


The Fanged Hero from the Sky

by IcyCake



Category: Fairy Tail, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Crossover, Pre-Dai Matou Enbu | Grand Magic Games Arc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-24 06:34:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 66,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7497897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyCake/pseuds/IcyCake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bisca has always wanted a pet wolf and when the opportunity to finally obtain one came to her in the form of a job request, she was first to take it. Little does she know the wolf is more than just a wolf...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Lost Wolf

"'Bout time," greeted a man's gruff voice the moment Bisca Connell opened the door to the Mayor's office. A stout, big-bellied man was seated in an oak chair seemingly too narrow for his wide girth behind an average-sized polished, dark wood desk covered in strewn folders, piles of books and paperwork, and on top of all that, a silver, oval tray of half-eaten food, which the sharpshooter assumed was the man's late lunch considering it was two hours past noon. The Mayor of the small village Dahlias looked to be in his mid-forties, sporting a graying, thinning comb-over atop his large domed head and a wispy black mustache over his thick pink lips. His pudgy, red, rounded face reminded Bisca of a pig with his fat pug nose and large round ears.

His squinty, close-set green eyes watched the sharpshooter like a lewd hawk as she strolled towards his desk, the heels of her tall boots soundly clomping against the hardwood floor. The square office wasn't very big; only twenty strides across diagonally, nor was it fancy. The desk and two chairs and a tall standing Lacrima lamp in the corner were the only furnishings. The walls were plain wooden panels decorated with a few framed certificates and signed scrolls that were written proofs of the Mayor's authority over Dahlias. A worn, dirty brown rug, that might have been red in one point in time, covered the floor, with many dark stains accumulated around the Mayor's desk. One arced, paned-glass window that stretched from ceiling to floor was the only bright thing in the otherwise dismal room, letting in the daylight and providing a great view overlooking the village upon the hill where the Mayor's building and grand house were built on.

The little room stank of grease and body odour and was sweltering compared to the cooler lobby. Mounted to the ceiling was a rapidly spinning fan, its gears noticeably grinding. It hardly did a thing to cool down the mayor seemingly stuck in his office chair. Sweat was beaded on the man's heavy brow and trickling down his double-chins and thick neck, drenching the collar of his white undershirt beneath his dark gray suit speckled with crumbs. Bisca held back the urge to twist her face in disgust at the smells, the lack of courtesy, and the repulsive sight of her client.

"Hello, sir," she returned in false kindness, plastering a fake smile to hide her contempt and discomfort at the foul conditions of the room. She wasn't offered the other seat so she remained standing, arms crossed before her chest, mentally scowling at the pig peering up at her behind what was left of his fried chicken and fries smothered in thick, brown gravy. "I am Bisca Connell from Fairy Tail at your service. I heard you had a slight problem with a wild wolf."

The man didn't even bother to introduce himself. Not that it mattered to the mage since she could clearly see his name on the nameplate partially buried by papers. He was called 'Alder Juvan' but Bisca preferred to call him 'Mr. Piggy'. He snorted and it wasn't just a simple puff out of the nose but a noisy one that ultimately matched his personality to that of a swine. "Didn't you read the description, woman?" he barked, leaning heavily against the backrest of his chair. The wood creaked and looked ready to snap but unfortunately the chair was strong enough to support the portly man's massive weight.

Bisca's trigger fingers twitched at his impatient tone. She was starting to hate the man more and more by the second. She held her breath, silently counted to ten and assured herself that she didn't have to suffer the man's vile presence for too long. All she needed was more details on the wolf in question so she could start the hunt.

"'Slight problem' doesn't come close," Mr. Piggy continued in a brusque manner, running a greasy hand through what remained of his hair. It added an extra shine to his bald head. "This damn mutt is a menace to our village! Over the past week it has been causing nothing but trouble for everyone!"

The mage brought a hand to her chin and looked upon the swine inquisitively. "What sort of problems, sir? You didn't quite specify in your request. I'd like to hear every detail to grasp its behaviour."

The mayor snorted again, his fat face distorted into an angry frown, not at Bisca but at the unseen beast that had tormented his village. "That thing has been stealing our food right off our tables! Sometimes lunch! Sometimes dinner! Somehow that wretch can find its way inside someone's home and snatch away their meal!"

Bisca raised her brow and pursed her lips at that. "Wait. The wolf is _stealing_ food?" That was rather strange yet intriguing. She had obsessively read about wolves at one point in time, (mainly because she had wanted one as a pet to add to her collection of exotic animals but was never successful in obtaining one), and was fully aware that they were top predators. There was plenty of wild game to hunt in the dense woods that surrounded the village at the bottom of the hill. She had seen a lot of wildlife amongst the trees during her two-and-a-half-hour carriage ride to the small village coming from Magnolia Town.

However, wolves were not native to Fiore. Perhaps it was not familiar with the fauna and did not know what to hunt or was either too sick or injured to hunt anything. Or it could have been raised by humans and ended up escaping or getting lost, hence why it was not afraid to venture into the village and come in close contact with the people.

"Yes! Stealing! Were you not listening?" Mr. Piggy grumbled.

Bisca's fingers twitched again. She was tempted to draw out her rifle and pop an exploding bullet right between the man's squinty eyes.

"That beast is breaking into our homes and stealing our dinner! I have sent local hunters after it, but those useless blokes could never find it. 'It vanishes without a trace!' one idiot says. 'It's like a ghost!' another fool claims. Ghosts? Bah! Those idiots! Can't do their job right! It's only a goddamn mutt. How can it be so hard to track?" The Mayor was gasping after his little rant and needed a moment to catch his breath. He wiped his sweaty forehead with the sleeve of his suit before leaning forward to pluck a few fries to stuff into his mouth. Noisily chewing, he continued, spitting pieces of his food with every word; "I even tried to poison the bastard. Left pieces of roasted turkey laced with rat poison all around the perimeter of the village but they were left untouched for days."

 _Poison?_ _How wickedly cruel._ Bisca's mood darkened. She didn't hate Mr. Piggy; she abhorred him. How she wished for Evergreen's eyes so she could petrify the slob of a man squished in the chair too small for his bulging fat. She was slightly relieved to hear that no other animal suffered a painful death for mistakenly eating the bait. She could assume the poison was easily detected through scent alone.

She started to pace back and forth to avoid having to look at the man's detestable face. "You have mentioned that it _broke_ into people's homes. Through open doors and windows?"

"That was during the first few days since it was first discovered. After that, all windows and doors of every home were locked and yet the wretch was still able to find its way inside some people's homes and sneak around! Somehow it can climb into attics! Even down in basements! Just last night it stole my ham and disappeared down the cellar where I found a goddamn tunnel it had dug through the dirt! Argh! _Damn that stinking beast!_ It has stolen from me three times already!"

"How very cunning," she quietly mused of the wolf. She hid her smile under her hand while the Mayor fumed at the comment, his face turning as red as a tomato.

"You better be japing, mage. There is nothing cunning about that foul animal. It is a nuisance and a goddamn pest. It has stolen its last meal. Since no hunter here can find it, I am left with no choice but to resort to paying a mage like you to do this." Mr. Piggy pointed a big fat finger at Bisca and his squinty eyes narrowed even further. "I want that beast's head. And his pelt. I will make a nice fur coat out that grimy thief. Once the wolf is dead, two-hundred seventy thousand Jewels are yours."

 _It would take a pack of ten wolves to make a coat that would fit around your bloated stomach and cover your hideous face,_ she bitterly thought but instead firmly replied with, "I will see to it immediately." With a small, polite bow of her head, Bisca twisted on her heel and left the pig and his sty.

Not all of her questions were asked but she couldn't stay in that horrid room any longer. She would have to interrogate some of the villagers for clearer answers on the wolf's appearance, whereabouts and most recent sightings. Breathing freely, the sharpshooter sauntered through the short hall and entered the lobby where Romeo was patiently waiting with their belongings. The blonde-haired secretary at the front desk exchanged a kind nod as Bisca passed.

"How'd it go?" Romeo asked, hopping off his chair and slinging his leather sack over his shoulder. He handed Bisca hers.

Not wanting the secretary to overhear anything rude about her Mayor, Bisca answered, "Swell. Very, _very_ swell. I'll tell you more as we head down to the village."

The afternoon sun was a blazing yellow orb in the sky, burning the backs of the two mages as they descended the paved road. After the sharpshooter relayed everything Mr. Piggy had shared with her in regards to their mission, Romeo frowned. "We're not really going to kill it, are we?"

"Of course not. Have you already forgotten why we took this job in the first place? I only made it seem like I agreed so he wouldn't break into an argument. Any minute longer in that room and I would've fainted. We didn't come here to kill anything. That wolf is going to be mine." Bisca was anxious at the thought, unable to hide her gleeful smile. Since she was a young teen, she had always wanted a pet wolf. Most particularly the Polar Wolf with its beautiful snow-white fur and golden eyes. However, that species only thrived in the far north of the arctic country of Iceberg.

Romeo was aware of her desire for obtaining a pet wolf and was the first to suggest this quest to her the instant it was put on the Request Board by Mirajane. The boy, after gaining permission from his father, wanted to join her while Alzack stayed home to watch over Asuka. The mission was the perfect and perhaps the only time ever for Bisca to come across a live wolf in Fiore. She couldn't afford to miss this chance. She only hoped that it didn't belong to anyone since it seemed tamed rather than a wild, aggressive beast. Mr. Piggy failed to mention any attacks on the villagers so the only real harm the wolf has done was startling the people and a few thefts of lunches and dinners.

 _Poor hungry little thing,_ she thought sympathetically. She was now more determined to capture it to take care of it herself.

She was stocked up with tranquilizer shots so capturing the animal alive wasn't going to be too hard. Finding it was the main problem.

Throughout the rest of the afternoon, Bisca and Romeo questioned some of the villagers that were stricken by the thief over the past week including the hunters. North, south, east, west, by the plaza, near the well, at the village gate, up on the hill; every person had a different opinion on where the wolf was last seen. They said it moved like a shadow, quick and graceful. The most anyone has seen of it were glimpses of its tail and the wicked shine of its eyes reflecting in the faint light as it ran off with their meal. Some said it was a hulking beast, others said it was larger than the largest dogs in the village, but everyone agreed that it had a big appetite and its presence was always accompanied with the sound of clinking iron chains.

"When you finally hear it, you know it's too late," said a man who was more frustrated than terrified of the animal unlike some villagers. There was a spreading rumour the wolf would start dragging children off in the middle of the night to be eaten, causing quite a panic among those who believed it. They could also hear howling in the middle of the night; a drawn, lonely sound that chilled the blood of some and evoked fear in others.

"Can it really be a ghost?" Romeo asked skeptically as they took a break out on the patio in front of a café. He sipped his iced tea through a bendy straw, visibly relieved to be in the shade with something cold to drink.

Bisca lightly laughed as she fanned her face with her hat. "Don't be silly. Ghosts can't steal food. It's obvious the wolf was travelling through the village in search of an easy meal. This little guy is rather clever choosing to prowl in the shadows instead of roaming in the light. The best way to find it is to lure it out."

"Using bait?"

"Exactly. We need a good trap, one that isn't obvious for this cunning wolf. From what everyone's told us, it likes to take cooked meat right off the table. I wonder if it lurks in the dark, waiting for the right opportunity to strike…" She stirred her cup of iced coffee and mulled around an idea in her head. "We will wait until dark and set up a table full of food it can't resist and hope it doesn't steal before then. But first, we need the right location."

And there was no other perfect location than Mr. Piggy's manor at the top of the hill. There were only a few sparse trees growing on the mound of earth, making it more open up there than within the village, limiting the shadows for the beast to hide. As well, the mayor was the wolf's favourite target considering his house was invaded thrice within the past week whereas every other villager was only struck once with thefts. After mustering the willpower to face the swine and his foul stench, Bisca marched into his office and discussed her plan. He reluctantly agreed after much persuasion and promised lies.

By the time Bisca, Romeo and the Mayor were ready, the moon was half-full in the clear, cobalt sky dotted with silvery stars that twinkled and winked. Donning a black hooded cloak to blend into the shadows herself, the sharpshooter was positioned on the manor's sloped rooftop with her silenced sniper rifle ready in her hands. Down on the first floor in the dining room of the two-story building was Romeo, Mr. Piggy, and the man's personal housemaids setting up the dinner table close to an open window. An electric fan was placed inside to blast the savoury aromas out the window and into the light, cool wind blowing by, hoping to attract their furry thief.

Bisca was crouched atop the red-bricked chimney, her keen violet eyes scanning the perimeter of the hill through the magic scope of her rifle. The special (and expensive) attachment made zooming in and out to a desired view a breeze with only a simple thought. It also came equipped with a night vision mode that turned the darkest night as bright as a sunlit day. The leaves of the trees and the blades of grass were both vibrant greens through the scope where they would normally be black and lined with silver from the half-moon's glow within the night.

Around and around, Bisca slowly shifted in circles in search of her wolf like a sentry guarding a castle. She wasn't sure how much time had passed until her legs started to cramp. It felt like hours and still no sign of her new pet. Sighing wearily, she rubbed her tired eyes and set aside her rifle to stretch out her stiff body.

She was in the middle of a yawn when she heard a squeal of a pig and startled shrieks followed immediately by loud, angry cursing. Then she heard the rattling of chains of something running swiftly below. Swearing under her breath, Bisca quickly grabbed her rifle and peered through the scope. It took several rapid heartbeats before she spotted the furry tail retreating down the hill, heading towards the woods.

 _You're not getting away from me, sneaky little guy!_ The sharpshooter licked her lips, took aim, and held her breath. The instant she locked the beast in her sight, she fired her tranquilizer bullet, the sound of the shot dulled by the silencer. Bisca flinched from the heavy recoil and lost sight of her target but she was certain she hit her mark. However, she was unable to find the wolf through her scope. Did it roll down the hill and into the woods or did it manage to reach the forest before the tranquilizer kicked in?

Determined to capture it, Bisca put away her rifle and leapt off the roof, the rushing wind blowing off her black hood. She rolled into her fall, replaced her fallen hat, and sprinted down the hill towards the forest boundary. The light wind made the trees shiver and their shadows dance, forcing the mage to approach more carefully. Her sharp eyes scanned the ground in search of a sleeping wolf.

What she found instead were the eyes of the beast glaring at her through the shadows between the trees, shining silver from the light of the moon. It growled a warning when the mage took a careful step forward, its white teeth viciously bared and its ears flat against its head. It wasn't the size of a hulking beast at all but the size of very large dog. Barely could the animal stand tall and proud as it tried to fight against the tranquilizer's effects. It staggered left and right on all four feet, hardly able to keep its head aloft. Lying not far on the ground was a whole roasted chicken covered in dead leaves and dirt.

Bisca had no need for her weapon. She raised her hands as if surrendering and offered the wolf a friendly smile. "Don't worry, little guy, I'm not here to hurt you," she softly cooed. "Just take a nap and I'll take you to a nice new home where no fat pigs will want to harm you."

The wolf was out before she even finished.

Bisca's smile widened and her young, teenage self was as giddy as ever. "I finally have a wolf!" she whispered in excitement as she skipped over and kneeled beside the slumbering beast. She quickly regained her composure and lightly brushed her hand over the animal's soft fur, loving the wolf already. "I'll take good care of you. I promise."

* * *

"I'm back! And look what I brought home!" Bisca announced cheerfully the moment she stepped up to the front door of her two-storey home. Located on the outskirts of Magnolia Town on the same side as the hill with Fairy Tail, the house was in a convenient place for Bisca and her family. Not only that, the backyard was the wide open wilderness with the river, forest, and mountains not too far away, more than enough space for more than two dozen pet animals, some large and exotic, to freely roam where they could hunt and forage for their own food. It was the perfect place to accommodate all her animals after she married Alzack, much better than the small confines of Fairy Hills.

The front door opened and the greeting she got was the happy squeal of her young daughter. Asuka pounced into Bisca's waiting arms, giggling. "Momma! Welcome back! I missed you!"

Laughing, the mother stood up, carrying Asuka with her. She playfully tugged on the end of her daughter's nose as the brims of their hats brushed against each other's. "I've only been gone for a day."

"It felt like a long time! Daddy missed you too!"

Watching in the doorway was Alzack, sporting a lopsided smile. "Welcome back," he greeted before nodding to the carriage behind his wife. "I take it the mission went well?"

Bisca couldn't hide her grin. "Absolutely." Most of it went well anyway. Mr. Piggy wasn't too happy with the sharpshooter's refusal to kill the village's furry thief, resulting in a heated argument and a cut to her and Romeo's reward. She had stormed out of the pig's sty of an office shortly after taking the money out of the man's fat, grubby hands. She had given Romeo the entire payment, seventy-thousand short from the original statement, not really caring for the money. All she wanted out of that mission was the wolf.

"What's in that big box, Momma?" Asuka asked, pointing.

The sharpshooter turned towards the small wooden cart that had a pulling handle like a wagon. A white, secured tarp covered the square steel cage that held her prize. "It's our new pet, dear," the mother answered, lifting a loose corner of the tarp for her girl to peek inside. "He's still sleeping but you can play with him later once I get him trained. Okay?"

Asuka was brimming with excitement when she saw the animal. "Oh! A big doggy?"

"Not just a dog. A wolf."

Alzack was peering over their shoulders. "Is it the same kind you've been wanting for years?"

"No. We'll have to move to Iceberg if we want to keep a Polar Wolf." Bisca laughed when her husband made a face. "This one's… a rare one." With greenish-gray fur and odd white patterns upon its head and body that was natural fur and not body paint, the wolf within her cage was one she had never seen before. And she had read every bit of available information on wolves in Earthland. This one could be a new, undocumented species.

It was once owned by someone, obvious by the broken chained shackle clasped around its front right foot and the pair of blue-hooped earrings pierced in both ears. Whoever had owned it last had mistreated the poor thing. Scars adorned its legs and back and three terrible gashes ran down its left flank, week-old wounds left from a larger beast with claws. Before leaving Dahlias that morning, Bisca had cleaned the wounds and the dried blood matting its fur before dressing them in bandages and had given it another dose of tranquilizer for the trip back to Magnolia. It made her wonder if the wolf had been bred and trained to fight in the despicable fighting pits that she had heard about from time to time. The very thought made her seethe with hate for the ones who dared to treat animals so cruelly.

They rounded to the back of the house with Alzack pulling the cart behind him. Lounging around on the field of grass and basking under the mid-morning sun was Bisca's chestnut mare, her orange and black-striped tigress, her brown grizzly bear, her one-humped camel, and her lazy crocodile. A large barn-like building made of concrete and painted red wood was situated nearby which served as shelter for all of Bisca's animals. Attached to the side gate of the barn was her circular training pen that could fit twenty full-grown elephants and was barred by a chain-linked fence. Tall trees grew around and within the pen, providing shade and cover for the isolated animals that Bisca had yet to tame. Birds twittered and sang within the branches, their shrill and chirpy voices pleasant to the ears. Right now the pen was empty, but not for long.

After putting Asuka down, Bisca unlocked the gate of the fence and Alzack wheeled their new pet inside. She unfastened the tarp and yanked it off so the mid-morning sun could shine down and warm up the wolf. "Isn't he adorable?" she asked her daughter the moment she picked the little girl up again so she could see. "He was hurt when I found him but he'll get better soon after some food and rest. Apparently, he likes to steal food from pigs."

" _Steal_ from pigs? Not eat them?" Alzack raised a perplexed eyebrow.

"It's a rather funny story. I'll tell you all about it later."

"What's his name?" Asuka asked, staring at the sleeping beast in wonder.

Bisca furrowed her brow in thought but then she came up with a cute idea. "I don't know. Why don't you come up with a name, dear?"

Excited, the girl broadly smiled before gazing up at the clear blue sky and lightly tapping her chin with a finger, pondering. "Hmm… Froggy!"

Her father laughed. "It's a wolf, Asuka. I don't think it'll appreciate being called a frog."

"Then… Um, um, um…" The little girl started to look around and spotted something that caught her eye. "I know! Dragonfly!"

Mother and father both shared a look before chuckling at the same time. "Alright, Dragonfly it is," said Bisca and the girl happily grinned.

"Now that you finally have a wolf," Alzack began, grunting as he helped his wife move the heavy cage off the cart and onto the grass, "what's your next animal on the list?"

"A raptordile."

The dark-haired man balked and gaped at Bisca in horror, nearly dropping his end of the cage. "Seriously?! Those things are dangerous!"

Bisca's smile was mischievous. "I know. And so are tigers and bears but I've managed to tame them." When her husband was not convinced, she added with a little laugh, "I'll wait until Asuka's older. Don't worry."

* * *

An enormous winged shadow descended upon him. The next thing he knew, he was falling; tumbling through a twilit sky, unable to discern which way was up or down or where he even was. Flecks of shadows and clouds of reddish-gold and dark purple spun around him, the colours melding together like runny paint. He tried to flail his hands to grab onto something but found his arms not of a man's but of a beast's; paws covered in white fur – the paws of a wolf. His screams were whimpers, his words were growls. He was falling to his doom and there was nothing he could do about it. The wind rushed by him, stinging his eyes and stirring every hair on his body.

Someone was crying out his name. His ears pricked, hearing the familiar voice sounding so faint and distant. He tried to search for the speaker but all he saw were shadows and twilight, spinning and spinning and spinning fast around him. Darkness was swallowing up the light and not before long, he saw nothing.

Then, he suddenly came to a dizzying stop. All was quiet, the wind was still. He was lying on his side on solid ground, no longer falling to his death in a realm of shadows and clouds. Whispers tickled his ears, making them twitch. He pried his eyes open only to shut them tight from the blinding light shining above. He groaned in discomfort, the sound coming out deep and rumbling from his throat, and tried to move but found his limbs as heavy as stone. More whispers, louder than before, growing into voices and turning into words with each passing second.

"… coming to."

"Do you think he's wild and dangerous?"

"He is only a pup. So long as he does not feel threatened, he has no reason to bare his fangs."

"Not much he can do inside the pen anyway."

"I overheard the mistress speaking with her mate. The wolf escaped from his previous owner."

"I would too if I was chained up and made to fight."

"What if you were raised knowing only to fight? The thought of escape would never come to you."

"So he could be dangerous…"

"We can only judge when he is awake."

"What was his name again?"

"The little one calls him Dragonfly."

He distinguished five different voices, two females and three males, and many different scents; one recognizably a horse. And there was singing coming from above; the chants and melodies of a few cheery birds. At that moment, he opened his eyes again and blinked at the sun wanting to blind him. He sluggishly moved his head, trying to see where the voices were coming from but everything was blurry.

"Hello? Hello?" someone said meekly in a quiet voice, one of the females.

He blinked a few times before he could finally adjust his sight on his surroundings. He was lying on something soft, plush and white. A metal cage surrounded him, smelling of steel, and he was left out under the sun. However, the door was left wide open, granting him freedom to wander out onto the grass.

His head felt as heavy as a boulder when he tried to lift it.

By the gods, what happened to him? Why did he feel so weak and tired?

He wanted to rub his weary face only to remember that he had no hands. _I'm still a wolf. I lost the Master Sword to the endless twilit sky and I fell along with it… Knocked off the shadow palace by some stupid birds._

That was reality and not only a dream. And always was it a disheartening truth whenever he woke up, surrounded by trees and wilderness he did not recognize. _Been days since I found myself in a river in the middle of the forest. Maybe a week now._

Or maybe he really was dreaming this time – dreaming within dreams.

In a daze, he slowly turned his head in the direction of the timid voice and saw five pairs of eyes staring at him from the other side of a tall wiry fence; curious and wary, dark, gold, and green, large and small – all belonging to different animals, some he had never seen before. The one that caught his eye first was the enormous beast that towered over the others. It had gray leathery, wrinkled skin, four stumpy legs as thick as tree-trunks, two large fan-like ears, a pair of huge white tusks that were larger than a boar's and a very long, wrinkled nose that hung down, nearly touching the ground. A chestnut-coloured mare with a shiny black mane and tail stood beside the gray beast and on the other side of the horse stood a four-legged, two-toed creature with a long neck, humped back, droopy lips, and covered in hair the colour of sun-baked sand. There was a large cat perched atop a pile of crates, orange and striped black with a white underbelly, its long tail swaying side to side in anticipation and lying close to the ground almost unseen in the tall grass was a crocodile with smiling jaws full of sharp white teeth.

It was the mare who spoke to him shyly and was the one who feared him wild and dangerous. "Uh, hello? Are you feeling better?" she asked timidly, tilting her head slightly.

He tried to answer but the only sound he made was a grunt. Even his mouth wasn't moving properly. Dry and parched, he wet his mouth, stretched his jaws, and tried again; "Where… am I?"

It was a question he had asked many times over the past week and the answers were always not to his liking:

 _"You are in a forest of trees, fanged one. Do you not see?"_ an owl had told him on the first day he found himself lost.

 _"Faron Woods? Sorry, pal, this forest has no name,"_ squeaked a squirrel before it had scampered away.

 _"The humans call this village 'Dahlias' and the forest 'Vespera',"_ purred a cat on the second night when he stumbled upon civilization.

 _"Hyrule? Ordon? Never heard of such places. You must be terribly lost, dog,"_ mocked a crow on the third night.

No matter which animal he had asked, they could not tell him exactly where he was. He was guessing he had somehow landed in a different country since the written language he saw in the village was greatly different from Hylian. And yet the villagers spoke in the same tongue as Hyruleans, making him assume he wasn't too far from Hyrule.

"You have been captured by our mistress and brought to her home; our home. Soon it will be yours as well," replied the giant gray beast in a voice that was bold, loud, and male. Its eyes may be small on its large, broad head but they were sharp and inquisitive, studying the wolf intently; judging and prying at the same time. There was a sense of great wisdom coming from the giant's proud, tall stance.

"Captured?" _How can that be?_ The wolf lowered his head, confused. He closed his eyes and thought deeply on the events that occurred last night. Or was it the day before? The last thing he could remember was that he was hungry and night had fallen. He was heading towards the village to find another easy meal. He hated stealing from the villagers but he had no choice since he didn't have the heart to hunt down innocent prey like a true predator. The very thought of his meal begging for mercy and the taste of their blood in his mouth didn't sit well with his conscience.

There was one villager he didn't mind stealing from however. Fat and overindulging, the mayor who wanted the wolf dead was the beast's favourite target. The mayor's home was where he caught the delicious, mouth-watering aroma of roasted bird and that was where he went first. However, he had sensed another trap lying in wait. He was right to be suspicious because he had spotted the dark silhouette of a person perched atop the chimney of the roof. Was that person the mistress the giant gray beast spoke of? Another hunter more skilled than the ones who had tried to hunt him before?

"Don't worry," assured the mare, her shyness gone. "You're safe here. The mistress will not mistreat you like your previous owner."

"What?" The wolf stared at the horse, more confused than before.

The mare nervously scraped her front hoof in the ground under his gaze, tearing up the grass. "I-I mean, weren't you treated badly? You're scarred and wounded and… you have a chain around your foot."

The wolf glanced down at the heavy iron shackle still bound around his right front leg before looking back at the deep gashes left by the sharp talons of the dreaded Shadow Kargarok. To his surprise, the wounds were covered by clean, white bandages. Once fully healed, they would turn into ugly scars to join the rest that marred his beastly body. They were reminders of all the brutal battles he had survived, fighting against various dark fiends in his cursed form. He turned back to the watching animals who mistook him for an actual wolf. Not just a wolf, a _pet_ wolf. "No, I was… I never had an owner because I am not what you think. I am actually a man."

There were a few perplexed looks coming from the gray giant, horse, and big cat while the crocodile stared blankly.

Meanwhile, the one-humped animal started to laugh, a fluctuating, drawn out _baaaa_ similar to that of a bleating goat, as he bobbed his head. "The tranquilizer is making his head all funny. He believes himself a man!" he said, peeling back his saggy lips to show his grinning yellow teeth.

The other animals soon joined in the laughter; snorting, neighing, and throaty, growly bellows erupted in amusement. The giant gray beast was the only one who didn't find any humour in the other's jape. Instead, it slightly cocked its great head as if intrigued.

The wolf growled in annoyance at the laughing animals. "I speak true. I am not a wolf," he stated firmly once the group has calmed.

"Then I am not a tiger," the striped cat retorted, sarcasm evident in her deep, purring tone. Her green eyes gleamed with playfulness as she gestured to the gray beast with her large paw. "And Arber is not an elephant. We are humans in disguise as well."

"Do not mock me," the wolf shot back, rising quickly to his feet. However, his body still felt heavy and his hind leg stung with pain, resulting in him falling back onto his side within the cage.

"Careful now…" said the mare, showing a little concern. "The tranquilizer has not passed through your system completely."

The wolf wasn't sure what a 'tranquilizer' was but he didn't doubt that it was responsible for his grogginess. It must have also unknowingly knocked him out in the first place. He steadily rose, needing to sit on his haunches as a dizzy spell passed him by. He breathed deeply, catching the scents of his surroundings more clearly. Wherever he was, it smelled completely different from the dense woods by the village of Dahlias. He was in another foreign place, much to his frustration. "Please, answer me this," he began, unable to hide his desperation, "Where exactly am I?"

"I have answered you," said the gray beast the cat had called an elephant and Arber, "You are at your new home."

He snorted in frustration. More useless answers and more misunderstandings. "This is not my home. I cannot stay here."

"Whether you can stay or not is not our decision to make," Arber stated in a firm tone. "If you truly are a man and not a fanged beast, prove it to our mistress. Transform back into a man."

The wolf slowly shook his head before staring down at his paws in dismay. "I cannot. I have lost the ability to do that." Dropped somewhere within the same forest he had landed in, he was hoping. He had searched day and night but to no avail could he find the holy sword of light. The Master Sword was lost. _And I lost my companion and friend as well, the one I promised to help…_

"How can you lose such an ability?" croaked the crocodile, his large jaws snapping with each grunted word. "You lie in being a man."

"I don't think he's lying, Finik," the mare spoke up. She could see the wolf's despair. "Is it not magic that transformed you?"

 _They know of magic?_ The power of Twilight was like magic, powerful and dark. But it was not evil. Only when misused was the power vile and corrupting.

"I am cursed by Twilight," he stated, "The only way to transform back is to find the sword I lost back in the forest I was found."

"A sword now? My aren't you an interesting one," the one-humped animal remarked, his lower lip quivering.

Arber curled his long nose and tapped the end against his forehead as if thinking. "Is 'Twilight' some sort of spell?"

"Not a spell, a power. Only beings from the Twilight realm possess it and the sword I seek has the power to counter it." It was light versus darkness in the war between realms. And for a time, the Light realm had been losing until he had started to set things right. Chosen by destiny, he was determined to save both realms. But due to bad luck and a horrible twist of fate, he was now lost in an unknown land, powerless and alone.

"This is getting complicating…" Finik the crocodile muttered, shaking his head. "So you're really a man?"

"Yes." The wolf started to walk out of the cage, taking slow careful steps on wobbly legs. The short links clinked as he padded onto the green grass of the fenced-up pen. He looked around, seeing a house and a barn and a vast expanse of trees that stretched almost all around the area. Birds were singing a chorus within the tall branches, their songs merry and joyful. Beyond the treetops were the rocky crags of mountains, brownish-gray and steep. He carefully approached the wiry fence where all the animals stood watching. "Do you believe my words true?"

"A man and a wolf and a wielder of a sword. What is there not to believe?" the striped cat quipped as she peered down at the wolf from her high perch.

"I believe him, Nene," the mare said shyly, scraping a hole in the grass again. "I… I think we should help him…"

The wolf perked up, feeling a small sense of hope.

"And how are we supposed to do that, Mula?" Nene the cat questioned, looking down at her hoofed companion. "We can't let the pup go. The gate is locked and the mistress would be none too happy about his escape even if he manages to."

"No, not help him escape… I-I was thinking…" Mula looked between her companions before her dark eyes settled on the wolf, "If it was magic that turned him into a beast then maybe magic could turn him back. The mistress and her mate know magic."

The wolf's ears twitched at the word 'magic'. "They do? What sort of magic?"

"All sorts," Arber vaguely replied. "The humans have very many different spells that I do not know where to begin, Dragonfly."

If he had eyebrows, the wolf would have raised one in question. "Did you just call me–"

"Dragonfly? Yes. That is your new name." The elephant's dark eyes gleamed with a hint of mischievousness.

The smaller beast grunted, not amused. "I have no need for a new name. I already have one. It is Link."

"Is it now? Your human name?"

"Wolf or man. It is the same."

Nene snorted and flicked her tail. "Not here, you are not, pup. The little one has named you Dragonfly and you will be referred to as such."

Link grunted again, highly annoyed. "That is a ridiculous name."

"Human young are just as ridiculous," remarked the grinning one-humped animal whose name Link had yet to learn.

The wolf decided to ignore the issue for now and returned to the previous matter. "Does your mistress have the power to transform me back?"

"For certain, I do not know," Arber truthfully answered with a slight shake of his great head. "Transformation is one type of magic she is capable of. However, it only changes her form into another."

Link's blue eyes widened. "A shape-shifter?" As a young boy, he had listened to stories and fables where men would turn into beasts and trees on a whim. Until he had first experienced the realm of Twilight, he didn't believe transforming into another living being could be true.

"I heard it is the most basic of spells," Mula piped in.

"You look surprised," noted the elephant. "Is the ability to transform by will uncommon from where you hail from?"

Uncommon? No, it was _unheard_ of. In Hyrule, only a few were skilled in the powerful arts of magic and even then the ability to take on the form of another creature has never been done before. _Unless you were cursed by Twilight…_ "Again, I must ask: _Where_ exactly am I? Ordon, Kakariko, Death Mountain, Lake Hylia, Hyrule… please tell me you have heard of these names…"

All he got were blank and clueless faces. He drooped his head and hopelessly sighed. He must truly be in another country then. How far away from the Kingdom of Hyrule, he was afraid to know.

"Sorry, pup," the orange and black cat was first to say, "none of those names ring a bell. You're in Magnolia Town if that helps."

 _No help at all,_ Link wanted to retort but held his tongue. There was no point in being rude to the animals who were trying to help him. "And where is this town located? In what kingdom or country?"

The one-humped beast pursed his loose lips together. "Hmm, it's Desierto, wasn't it?"

"Veneer, that is where _you_ came from," Nene replied, giving the sandy-coloured animal a sullen look.

"Oh, right." Veneer laughed his goat-like laugh. "That was so long ago but I can still remember the name of my birthplace."

"The Kingdom of Fiore is what I believe this country is called," the mare answered the wolf, nodding. She leaned against the chain-linked fence and lowered her head down to his level when she saw Link's bewildered reaction. "I'm sorry… That isn't what you wanted to hear, is it?"

"I am lost… Utterly, utterly lost," the wolf murmured in defeat.

"How did you end up in Fiore without knowing?" croaked the crocodile, almost demanding.

Link craned his head to the clear blue sky above, squinting against the glare of the sun. "I fell… from up there…"

"Are you saying you sprouted wings and flew?" muttered the cat in disbelief.

The wolf looked at each animal and reiterated, "I fell into the endless sky in the Twilight Realm and somehow landed in your kingdom. That is how I do not know. I must have been transported here when I passed through the boundary between Light and Twilight." He was met with more cluelessness and confusion.

"Alright… You've convinced me you're not a normal wolf anymore…" Finik grumbled, dropping his long, toothy snout onto the grass as if holding up his head was exhausting. "I don't get what you're saying at all…"

Arber curled his nose and tapped his forehead in his thinking posture. "Indeed. This is becoming very confusing. It is like you are from another world, Link."

"Another world…" The wolf could almost agree with that.

"Our mistress may be able to help you but conveying your problem to her will be a challenge."

"Can she not communicate with animals? I thought she could shape-shift."

Arber closed his eyes and snorted through his long nose, blowing a mighty wind that stirred the grass below him. "I have said she can change her form but she does not actually use it often. However, even when she does become a beast, she cannot understand our words like you can. That is why I was suspicious of you being an actual man. No magical human can understand our words when they wear the skin of animals." He opened his eyes and met the wolf's stare. "You are most intriguing, Link. I would like to help you but there is very little I can do. Trust in our mistress. There is no doubt that she will aid you when she learns of your dilemma."

The wolf nodded, feeling a little better knowing he wasn't stuck on his own looking for answers like when he first found himself within the forest of Vespera. He politely bowed his head at the great gray beast and the other animals, grateful to have their help. "Any idea of how to tell your mistress my story?" he questioned.

Veneer peeled back his saggy lips and grinned. "If any of us could read and write in the human language, we'd provide a nice letter. Too bad neither of us can. I can't even hold a pencil."

"You are the very least helpful," Nene growled, rolling her green eyes in an amusing human-like gesture. "Our mistress is good at understanding our problems, pup. She knows when we're sick or 'feeling blue' – whatever that means. It's like she can read our minds."

Mula nodded in agreement, a smile reflecting in her dark eyes. "She is very caring. I'm sure she can figure out your problem in no time. And I think 'feeling blue' means sad." She whispered the last part to her feline friend.

Link internally smiled.

"How about I bring her, Link?" Arber asked, glancing towards the house across the small field of grass. "She is very excited to meet you."

Before the wolf could reply, the elephant raised his nose and made a loud blaring sound that reminded Link of a trumpet. He cringed from the volume and was silently thankful the noise didn't last very long.

Not before long, the yellow back door of the house opened and a very young girl and her mother exited the house, heading in the direction of the waiting animals. Link could almost make out the wide smiles adorning their faces.

The horse happily neighed and stomped her front legs. "Good luck with the mistress, Dragonfly. I know you will love her and her little one as much as we do!"

 _My name is Link_ , the wolf wanted to correct her but the little girl running towards them cut him off with her joyous squeals of "Dragonfly's awake, Momma! Hi, Dragonfly!" and wild waving.

There was sniggering coming from the other animals. All Link could do was mentally groan at the childish name given to him before anticipating his encounter with their beloved mistress. There was lots he wanted to tell her and he had absolutely no clue how he was going to do that. He could only believe that she was the one to help him find his light and his way back home…

 


	2. Lost Hope

Bisca Connell was more than happy when she stepped foot into her training pen. She was brimming with excitement and it probably showed on her face in the form of an uncontrollable smile. However, she had to stay under self-control to avoid startling or frightening her new pet wolf that was now wide awake and staring.

Dragonfly was a handsome, young fellow with gorgeous blue eyes that were the same shade as the clear sky above and with a shiny coat that was greenish gray and marked with white. Larger than an average dog, the beast sitting tall by the steel cage in the center of the enclosure watched the human intently as she carefully made her way over.

When ignoring the twittering birds in the distant trees, there was an odd silence that hung around them as if every watching creature were holding their breath; neither of Bisca's animal friends made a sound and neither did the wolf. The quiet rustling of grass from each of Bisca's footfalls seemed like the only audible noise.

He was surprisingly calm and patient, showing no signs of fear, tension, or aggression in spite of his current situation. Being surrounded by a number of strange foreign animals in an unfamiliar setting with a human drawing closer usually sets off an animal's fight-or-flight instincts. But Dragonfly displayed none of that and he had just woken up from being tranquilized too. It was an extraordinary behavior the sharpshooter had never witnessed or read about before in a canine predator. But it was a good indication that he wasn't an animal solely trained to fight and kill as Bisca had first thought when she saw his scars and the shackle around his foot.

Bisca gave some credit to whoever had previously owned the animal for managing to make him so docile. Like an obedient, trained animal, the wolf remained sitting in his spot, looking more curious than frightened. There was a great sense of intellect behind those beautiful blue eyes that Bisca could detect the longer she stared into them.

She had a strange feeling at the back of her mind that this wolf was more than just a well-trained beast.

"Hello there, Dragonfly," the green-haired mage greeted with a kind smile and a tip of her hat, not bothering to reach for the handle of her training whip clasped by her hip since her furry friend was far from dangerous.

At the sound of her voice, the wolf tilted his head slightly and flicked one of his pierced ears, broadening the woman's smile at the cute display.

Standing around on the other side of the fence behind her was a handful of her pets, each one closely observing along with her daughter, Asuka. Riding atop Arber the elephant, the little girl was watching with excitement, staying quiet upon her mother's command. It was hard for her to stay still, however. Bisca could hear her daughter squirming about on Arber's back.

Not wanting to intimidate her new pet, Bisca stopped an arm's length away and slowly offered a hand for the animal to recognize her scent. "The name's Bisca. Don't worry. I won't hurt you. I'm here to help you," she said softly.

Dragonfly nodded as if he understood, making the sharpshooter blink in surprise. She took a small step forward, followed by another, her hand still held out in a friendly gesture.

He didn't move away from her close presence. He didn't even try to sniff her hand like how dogs would usually do when identifying a complete stranger. He simply sat and stared, glancing from her hand and up to her face. The wolf was studying her, making Bisca realize just how intelligent he really was. The woman couldn't help but adore him more and more. Inside, she was as giddy as a teenager, overwhelmed with happiness to have gained not only a wolf, but one that was smart and well-behaved.

"You really are something different," she murmured quietly as she slowly reached out, wanting to give him a little pat on the head.

Dragonfly shifted his head away from her hand, signifying he didn't want to be touched. Behind Bisca, Nene the tigress suddenly growled and Arber grunted loudly. Oddly after that, Dragonfly snorted, flattened his ears, and pressed his forehead against the woman's hand before she could withdraw.

_Changed your mind now, have you?_ Bisca thought with a little giggle. She wondered if her pets were the main reason. It seemed like her animal friends had already gotten acquainted with Dragonfly and vice versa. This was truly out of the ordinary for Bisca for it was the very first time a new pet got along with the other animals in such a short amount of time.

The sharpshooter's fingers lightly brushed against the wolf's soft fur, stroking down to his thick mane. In response to her touch, Dragonfly made a grunting sound, his throat rumbling. He was obviously displeased, but otherwise didn't pull away again in discomfort or even try to bite her. Impressed, the mage kneeled before the beast so she was at his eye-level.

"You must be thirsty. Hungry too, I bet," she said with a wink. It wasn't just weapons and ammunition she stored in her pocket dimension; Bisca had her pet supplies too for easy access. She pulled out a yellow, plastic water dish and a bottle of water seemingly out of thin air.

Dragonfly blinked and stared at the items in her hands, noticeably surprised. After she filled the bowl with water, she placed it in front of him and kindly gestured for him to drink. He sniffed the rim of the dish and once he deemed the contents safe, he started to lap up the clear liquid.

"Welcome to your new home," she said quietly, smiling.

The wolf suddenly stopped drinking, straightened, and looked at her.

Bisca's smile faltered when she saw the sadness reflecting in his bright blue eyes.

"Mama! Can I play with him now?" Asuka interrupted.

The mother turned her head around and placed a finger over her lips to silently tell her daughter to hush. Asuka slapped a hand over her mouth and nodded.

Facing Dragonfly, Bisca frowned and asked, "What's the matter, little guy? You don't like it here? You want to go back home?"

The wolf nodded, making the woman gasp.

"You understand everything I say?" she inquired.

The wolf nodded again.

Bisca was elated by that. Sometimes it took years for her other pets to understand her spoken language so it was truly astonishing that Dragonfly had already learned how to listen to the human tongue. However, she was also extremely disappointed to find that Dragonfly didn't want to stay.

She couldn't hide her dismay. "Is it the forest you want to go back to? Is that where your home is?"

Dragonfly shook his head before raising his black nose to look skyward. He let out a short whine as he stared longingly at the stray clouds above.

Following his gaze, Bisca didn't quite understand when she saw nothing but sky. She pursed her red lips and brought a hand to her chin as she pondered over what Dragonfly wanted to tell her. To no avail could she figure it out. She gently brushed her knuckles against his furry cheek, drawing his attention back on her. His eyes were pleading now.

Bisca tried her best. "Is it close to that forest?"

He shook his head.

"From somewhere… far away?"

For a moment, the wolf stared, seemingly thinking about it, and then slowly half-nodded as if unsure if he was right or wrong.

The sharpshooter frowned in deep thought. "Is it in a different forest?"

Dragonfly answered with a 'no'.

"Close to a forest?"

No.

"In the mountains?"

No.

"In a town, city, or village?"

No.

"Plains? Desert? By the ocean?"

No. No. And no.

There was one other option left. She craned her head upwards and hesitated. "The… sky?"

Yes.

Bisca's frown turned into a confused one. "You… came from the sky?" she asked tentatively, pointing at the blue space high above their heads.

Dragonfly nodded, making the woman even more perplexed. She raised an eyebrow, wondering if the tranquilizer was still affecting the animal's train of thought. "The sky… the sky…" she murmured under her breath, trying to wrap her head around how such a thing could possibly be.

She had never heard of land animals falling from the sky. Could it be that a floating island perhaps existed somewhere beyond the clouds? A magical, hidden land full of never-before seen creatures and people… The mage's imagination was running wild. But when she spoke of her assumption, she got another partial nod.

"Some sort of floating island…" Bisca whispered in awe, eyes wide. Incredible. She never would have expected this. It was just as surprising as the time she had learned of the parallel world of Edolas. The theory did explain why Dragonfly, a rare and non-native species of wolf, was suddenly found wandering in Fiore. She then wondered about his injuries; was it a large creature that may have wounded him and thrown him off the edge? And how did he survive such a fall?

When she voiced her concerns, she got a nod for him being knocked off by some sort of monster. How he had managed to break his fall without breaking his bones was something that couldn't be answered with a simple yes or no. Nevertheless, he was still alive and in pretty decent shape. "You really are something special," she said again, giving the animal a gentle pat and an assuring smile. "I will find a way to get you back home. I promise you. In the meantime, I will take good care of you, Dragonfly."

His eyes brightened and he nodded in appreciation, but then he grunted and snapped his jaws as if irked by something she said.

"What is it, Dragonfly?"

Pointing his nose at the mage, the beast grunted again and slightly narrowed his gaze.

Bisca laughed when she finally realized what bothered her new friend. "Oh! You don't like 'Dragonfly', do you?"

He shook his head.

"Aww, but it's such a cute name," she said with a playful pout, only to receive an unhappy glower from the wolf.

"Can we call him 'Froggy' then?" Asuka called out.

"Froggy?" the mage relayed the suggestion. The wolf was not amused. Bisca turned to her daughter, chuckling. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, but he doesn't like that one either. He already has a name, am I right?"

The beast nodded.

"Hmm, any clues to what it could be?"

He raised his shackled right paw and shook it to make the short chain noisily clink. Then he dropped it to the ground and nudged the metal links with his nose.

Ah, charades. Bisca wasn't a fan or an expert so this was going to be a fun challenge.

She raised her brow, thought for a moment, and made a wild guess. "Iron… wolf?"

Her furry friend flattened his ears, slowly blinked, and slightly tilted his head as if he couldn't believe how absurd she sounded. He bit the chain and made them rattle.

Over the next ten or so minutes, Bisca listed a number of different names related to the iron fetter the wolf kept referring to. Asuka, still mounted atop of Arber, happily threw in some of her suggestions into the mix as well. Every single one was rejected since most sounded ridiculous to begin with; 'Clink-clink', 'Chainy', 'Gray Fang', 'Loopy', 'Ironfoot', and 'Metal Doggy Wolf King' were some of the odd names both mother and daughter could come up with.

Ready to give up, Bisca tossed in one last suggestion only to have the wolf spring up on all fours, nodding. She grinned in satisfaction. "'Links', is it?" She reached out and playfully ruffled his mane with both hands. "That's a good name."

He snorted in response to her touch before shaking his whole body to straighten his mussed up fur.

The sharpshooter stood up and stretched out her cramping legs.

"Mama! Can I play with him now? Please?" Asuka cried, fidgeting on her perch.

The mother glanced between her eager child and the wolf. "Only if Links is willing to." The beast seemed hesitant, however when Mula the mare neighed and stomped her two front feet excitedly, Links grudgingly nodded. "Looks like he wants to play. But be nice, Asuka, he's still hurt and recovering."

Asuka cried out in glee and promised to be nice. With the help of Arber's trunk, she was lowered to the ground where she rushed to the closed chain-link gate. There she waited for Bisca to unlock it, hopping up and down on her toes.

Smiling in amusement, Bisca leaned over the disgruntled wolf, lightly stroked the top of his head and whispered in his ear. "Don't worry. My daughter is kind and gentle." As she strode to the fence she added, "I'll bring you something good to eat, Links. No more having to steal from smelly fat pigs."

* * *

The half-moon was bright in the dark night sky, accompanied by many stars of silver, blue, and red. Crickets sang their thrilling tunes late into the evening, marking the end of another day gone. Night meant sleep for many of Bisca's animals. Only a few prowled the shadows and Link was one of them.

He couldn't wait around and do nothing for another moment longer. With each passing hour, he grew more restless, his mind wrought with worry for his dear friend he had left back in the Twilight Realm. Too much time had passed since then and he couldn't waste another minute more. But what could he possibly do? Trapped as a wolf, there was little he could accomplish on his own. Especially when the world around him was a new and unfamiliar place.

The mistress Bisca had promised to help him and she stayed true to her word. Shortly before evening, she and her family had left to join up with the rest of her guild, Fairy Tail. Link had overheard her talking to her dark-haired husband about asking someone named 'Levy' for information on secret floating islands and sky wolves.

It was only half true, but having Bisca believe he came from the sky was the best he could get her to understand that he did not originate from another ordinary land. The Twilight Palace… that is where he must promptly return to in order to fulfill what he had promised.

With the family of three gone, the house was guarded by Taper, the small but very sociable dog with a tan and white coat and a curled tail that constantly wagged. The little canine was super ecstatic to meet Link earlier that day, running circles around the bigger beast, always yapping and playfully nipping at the end of the wolf's tail and nose. Taper was the first warning to alert the other animals of any thief who would dare intrude on the mistress's home. Only a fool would try to steal from this house protected by various creatures armed with teeth, quills, claws, horns, hooves, fangs, and tusks.

Link had met most if not all of Bisca's pets. They ranged in all sizes and shapes from an extremely tall and long-necked yellow, brown-spotted creature known as a giraffe to the huge and colourful ten-meter long python with beautiful shiny scales that glinted like gold. It was an odd, fascinating assortment of reptiles, birds, and beasts and each one had their own unique personalities and quirks. (There was even a bird that looked and sounded _exactly_ like a cucco, but in this land it was called a 'chicken'. Whether or not it can summon its fellow kin when in danger, Link had yet to find out.) Most were friendly and sympathetic towards Link, others, like the old grizzly bear named Boras, were either indifferent or didn't care about his situation or the fact that he was actually a man. Nevertheless, they were an interesting, (and often loud), bunch and all respected lady Bisca and her family.

Bisca was indeed a person with a kind heart who truly cared for her animals and that fact was evident by the affection each pet had for her. Her young daughter inherited the same kindness as well. A curious and gentle little girl, Asuka stayed by Link's side nearly all afternoon, keeping him company and constantly running her tiny hands all over his fur, being mindful of his bandaged wounds. The wolf was annoyed and grumpy at first, because he didn't like being treated as an actual _pet_ , but after much teasing and persuasion from Nene, Arber, and the rest of the animals, Link had to accept the fact that human hands were attracted to his soft fur.

Being stroked was a sensation that eventually grew on him. Especially when it was followed by a good scratching behind the ears.

Sniffing the cool night air, Link caught the lingering scents of his animal companions but saw no one under the pale light of the moon. He carefully slipped past the gate of the pen left open for him and entered the wide, grassy field that served as Bisca's enormous backyard. The shackle around his foot clinked with every other step but he was certain it wasn't loud enough to awaken the slumbering animals in the nearby barn. Since Bisca had yet to establish a sleeping area for him inside the building, she suggested for him to use the steel cage as a temporary bed in the meantime.

He headed for the border of trees, hoping to find his way to the town of Magnolia while under the cover of the forest. The instant he entered the shadows, he heard a familiar voice that made him freeze in his tracks.

"Where do you think you're going, pup?" Nene demanded, her words a low growl, coming from above.

Link craned his head upwards, finding the tigress perched atop one of the branches of the closest tree, hunched in the form that was ready to pounce. Her eyes shone wickedly under the moon, boring right into the wolf on the ground.

"You promised our mistress you would not leave. Do you dare defy her?" she continued. She was a night hunter and Link didn't doubt her skill and efficiency to hunt prey in the dark. Unlike some of the other carnivores that were often hand-fed, the tigress always hunted her own food. Larger and stronger than Link, she had massive paws nearly the size of the wolf's head and large claws that could tear anything to shreds within seconds. Right now those deadly claws of hers were sunken right into the bark of the branch she rested on.

Arguing with her would be a big mistake on his part.

The wolf chose his answer carefully; "I will return before the morning will rise."

"Return from where?" She narrowed her sharp eyes inquisitively, the end of her long tail twitching from side to side as it hung over the branch.

"The town nearby. I wish to investigate and search for any possible clues as to where my sword may have ended up." Getting Bisca to understand he came from a different realm was semi-easy, but trying to tell her that he was a man transformed into a wolf by the power of Twilight was impossible. Only he would be able to search for his lost blade.

Nene snorted angrily. "Our mistress has promised to help you. Don't you trust her?"

Link bowed his head slightly to gaze upon the shadowed ground covered in weeds. "I trust her. I know she will do whatever she can to help me. However," he returned his stare on the feline, and hardened his expression, "there is much she still does not know. She cannot help me find what I truly need. I must do that part alone."

"Alone?" The tigress huffed at that. "Didn't you try that already? Look how successful that ended up." She suddenly leapt off her perch, jostling the branch and making the leaves of the tree noisily rustle. With a dull thud, she landed gracefully before the wolf. Rising to her full height, she was half a head taller than Link and twice as intimidating when she wore a scowl on her striped face. "You're still wet behind the ears. There is not much you can do on your own when you're lost. Every cub knows that."

Link frowned at the truth, feeling frustrated. "I have no choice but to act on my own given the circumstances."

"That isn't what I'm implying."

The wolf blinked and tilted his head slightly. "You're not? Then what are you are saying?"

There was a sneer evident in the reflection of her eyes. "You're going the wrong way, that's what I'm trying to say. I'll show you the way to the human town."

The wolf perked up and internally smiled. "You would do this?" he asked as Nene started to calmly stroll past him.

The tigress gave him a sideways glance. "I like you, pup. You amuse me. And the mistress and her young are quite fond of you. Although I'm disappointed that you did not accept Metal Doggy Wolf King as your name. Shame on you for that."

Link padded up beside the striped feline and shortly growled as he stayed in pace. "Ludicrous. That is _not_ a suitable name! It makes absolutely no sense!" he barked irritably. It was the child who had suggested such a ridiculous title. 'Links' was hardly any better but it was much closer to his actual name so he hadn't bothered trying to correct Bisca.

Grinning, Nene showed her vicious fangs, each pointed tooth twice the size of Link's. Together they left the shadows and entered the moonlit field filled with singing crickets. "It doesn't have to make sense because it has a nice ring to it," she purred teasingly. "Metal Doggy Wolf King. That's what I will call you from now on, pup. Now, follow me." She quickened her pace, breaking out into a slow run.

Link grumbled and rolled his eyes, a little annoyed that another stupid name was tacked onto him. Nevertheless, he was grateful to have Nene's help. He chased after her long tail and caught up with her stride, his injuries barely hurting. They rounded the house and instead of taking the worn dirt path, they stepped into the tall grass alongside the road that grew high above their heads. Many insects buzzed away as the pair broke through and disturbed each blade. There were a few vermin that Link could smell that immediately bolted away the instant they heard the larger animals' approach.

Not before long, the wolf and tigress emerged from the overgrowth and onto a muddy, stony riverside bordered by young and small trees. They quietly followed the flow of the small river, leaving tracks in the soft mud. It was a peaceful stroll, hearing only the gentle waters, the songs of insects, and the soft clinks of Link's chains.

Through the gaps of the trees, Link could see the yellow glow of lights coming from the numerous houses built near the embankment. The farther they went, the brighter the glow of lights became as the town came into view on the other side of the river.

Nene stopped for a drink and Link joined her, liking the fresh taste of the river.

"Do you see that hill?" the feline asked once she finished, craning her head up to stare beyond the tops of the closest trees.

Licking his wet nose, Link followed her gaze and found the distant mound silhouetted against the starry sky. It was a large hill with a visible path that curved to the top that was covered in pointed trees.

"Up there is where the mistress, her mate, and her young like to gather with other humans in what they call 'Fairy Tail'."

"You mean that is where her guild is located?" the wolf inquired.

"Yes. It is a strange, noisy building where humans are constantly displaying dominant behavior. Would you like to see?" she asked, sounding rather excited as if eager to show him a neat secret.

Link contemplated for a moment before nodding. The guild was a good start in gathering what little information he could find. He was anxious to know if Bisca was able to obtain an answer to solve his dilemma with her companions.

Up the muddy embankment the pair of animals went. They squeezed between the skinny trees and quickly made their way across the wide open, unlit road made of stone, careful not to be seen in fear of startling any unwary townsfolk. Nene had accidentally done that once, she had said, and it resulted in her being scolded by Bisca after the person reported the incident to the mistress. There was only one tiger around these parts and that was Nene, so the townsfolk were often quick to recognize who she belonged to. Since then, Nene had to wear a small gold band engraved with some sort of runes around the base of her tail that allowed Bisca to magically track her location. The feline didn't mind the accessory however, for she considered it as a gift from her mistress.

The pair climbed the path and was fortunate not to encounter anyone descending the hill. Waiting at the flat top was a fairly large building surrounded by evergreen trees and cast in the silvery glow of the moon. Constructed from wood and stone, it sported a tall windmill tower with blades that slowly rotated in the breeze. Above the double doors was an arced, run-down sign with foreign letters Link couldn't read. Placed above that on the front of the tower was a crimson banner adorned with a white sigil that likely represented the symbol of Bisca's guild.

Nene wasn't wrong when she had mentioned the noise of the place. Link could hear the ruckus coming from inside through the partially opened windows on either side of the double doors. There was laughter, cussing, yelling, and the constant buzz of chatter.

The feline led the way, staying low as she approached the first window. Link followed suit. Nene was tall enough to peer through the glass while the wolf needed to rise onto his hind legs and rest his front paws on the outer windowsill to take a peek inside.

Link was stunned at what he saw. Behind the double doors, it was more akin to a pub than anything else. It was rowdy and full of all sorts of people, a number of them drunk and fighting. It wasn't just simple fist-fights either; there was _magic_ being exchanged in the form of ice and fire between two young men. One of them was completely _naked_ and throwing frozen spears at the other who was swallowed in blazing flames. Ice pierced into the wooden rafters of the roof when the fire-user dodged each icy point. Following that was the smashing of a table when a burning fist missed its naked target. All around, the other patrons didn't seem fazed by the destruction going on between the battling pair. It was truly a perplexing sight.

"Look! Look! They're fighting over territory again! And over there," Nene turned to the nearest corner where a muscular man with silver-white hair was dangerously swaying back and forth on his own two feet. He stood before a table covered in empty beer glasses and wine bottles where a dark-haired young woman was laughing hysterically at him. He was singing at the top of his lungs, his words horribly slurred, while holding onto a half-full mug of beer that sloshed from side to side, spilling all over the floor. "That one's performing some odd mating dance for that female. Very intriguing, don't you think? Listen to that mating call!"

"That is not actually a mating dance… or a mating call. He is… just plain drunk," Link tried to explain. The strong scent of alcohol wafted through the crack of the window.

"'Drunk'?" The word was unfamiliar to the tigress. She flicked her rounded ears when another wooden object was soundly destroyed. She glanced at him from the side and quietly snorted. "I forgot you are a man. I suppose you've seen these odd human behaviours then. Now where is the mistress? She must be further inside."

Link looked around, actually fearing for Bisca and her daughter's safety amongst the chaos. He wouldn't have believed that Bisca was a part of this crazy guild if Nene hadn't told him. For a moment longer, he watched the magical battle unfold between the two young men. But then, someone else intruded, a woman with long scarlet hair and dressed in silvery armour and a skirt. She skillfully moved in and angrily knocked the two boys over the head with metal fists, sending them both crashing into the floor where each made a small crater with their _faces_ in solid stone. Neither of them moved or even twitched right after that.

"That is the alpha female of these humans," said Nene. "Every male abides to her wishes."

"Frightening…" the wolf murmured, shocked at the incredible physical strength the woman possessed. Everyone noticeably edged away from the armoured woman, even the ones who were stumbling drunk. Just then a small blue and white cat that somehow walked on two legs came running over to one of the unconscious males, its face contorted with horror, and started to move its mouth as if speaking. Link's eyes widened and he leaned forward, pressing his nose against the glass. Although he couldn't pick out what was spoken over the burly man's horrible singing, he was still sure the blue cat was talking in the human tongue when he noticed the scarlet-haired woman responding. "That cat! It can communicate with them!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Nene cocked her head slightly. "It can? I've never paid attention to that. I've never met him either but I know he belongs to the male with the pink hair lying on the floor."

Link dropped to the ground and headed to the double doors. "I must have a word with him. I will ask him to convey my situation to your mistress so she will understand my plight."

"You want to risk going in _there_?" the tigress asked in bewilderment, padding over.

"Yes. He is the only hope I have to get my message across." The wolf examined the handles on the double doors, finding that they were knobs that needed to be turned. He growled in disappointment for he had no hands to use. He placed his front paws on the wooden doors and tried to push them open but neither of them budged. "There has to be another way in…"

"There is. This way." Nene led the canine to the side of the building where a bunch of old crates and barrels were stacked on top of each other to form a makeshift mountain of wood. The tigress easily climbed up the pile and leapt onto the shingled roof. She looked down at the waiting wolf.

Link copied the tigress, though he was not as graceful as the feline. He accidentally kicked a barrel off the top after he jumped onto the roof. The barrel landed with a loud _thump_ and rolled away to bump into the trunk of a tree, but the noise went unnoticed by the people inside.

The tigress nodded at the round window built into the side of the windmill tower. It was left wide open and it was big enough for them to squeeze through. "Sometimes I like to sit up here and watch the humans below on nights like this. It's quite entertaining," said the feline, showing her wicked teeth in a wide grin.

Link took one step only to stop when he noticed someone standing at the top of the tower in the periphery of his vision. When he looked up, the person was gone. "Did you see that?" he asked his companion.

"See what?" Nene narrowed her sharp eyes at the roof of the windmill and shook her head. "I don't see anything, pup."

The other blinked and frowned in slight confusion. He focused his senses, hoping to detect the mysterious person, but to no avail. It was only his imagination. "Never mind. I thought I saw someone watching us…"

Nene gave him an odd look before gesturing to the open window with her paw. "If you're still planning to go in, by all means. I'll be staying here."

Link nodded. The window wasn't very high off the building's main roof. He could sit and look through it if he wanted to. On the other side were the wooden rafters that made up the roof he stood upon and down below was the chaos known as Fairy Tail. Crystal lights were mounted on the walls and wooden posts, setting a warm atmosphere inside. Even though it was loud and rowdy and rather violent, the people were visibly enjoying each other's company.

He spotted the familiar hat that belonged to Bisca as she sat around one of the tables farthest away from the damaged section, conversing with a young teenage girl with blue-hair. Not far from them was little Asuka, playing with another strange, small cat that could walk on two legs, but this one was black, obviously grumpy, wearing shorts, and carried what looked like a miniature sword on its back.

Link wondered if the black feline could talk to the humans as well. Curious and hopeful, the beast hopped onto the window's ledge and carefully dropped onto the nearest plank of wood that was part of the rafters. The board was wide enough for him to slowly walk across without having to worry about slipping and falling off. And it was free of ice spears unlike the other unfortunate pieces of wood around him.

Inside, the noises and smells were amplified by at least tenfold. He was deafened by the jolly cheers, boisterous laughter, and awful singing. The pungent stench of smoke coming from someone's cigar overwhelmed the odour of liquor and food, stinging the wolf's sensitive nose. He sneezed, making the chain around his foot rattle against wood.

The voice of a young girl suddenly yelled over the ruckus; "There's a monster in the ceiling!"

Link froze and glanced down at the floor, seeing a girl with long navy-blue hair tied in pigtails pointing at him. All noises and activities immediately stopped. Silence fell over the crowd as every head, both drunk and sober, followed her finger to find the wolf lurking in the rafters.

"What? A monster?!" someone exclaimed.

"Wait, that's–" Link heard Bisca began to say, but she was interrupted by someone shouting out;

"Iron Dragon's Club!"

"No! Stop, Gajeel!" Bisca shouted.

There was a flash of silvery-black in the corner of Link's eye as something shot out at him from down below. Panicking, he jumped forward to avoid what looked like a long, giant rod of iron that seemed to grow upwards in length. It smashed through the rafters and through the roof, leaving a gaping hole in both.

Unfortunate for Link, the plank of wood he stood on could no longer support his weight and snapped apart, sending him tumbling to the ground. There were startled shrieks when he landed ungracefully on top of a table, knocked it over, and fell along with it. Empty dishes and glasses noisily shattered by his head while pieces of broken wood clattered all around him.

Link was sore and aching, but he was quick to ignore the throbbing pain in his side when he felt the people of the guild surround him. Up on all four feet, he warily scanned the many intimidating faces staring down at him and instinctively snarled a warning in defense. Every muscle was tense and his fur bristled for he never liked the feeling of being surrounded as both a beast and as a man.

Suddenly, Asuka burst through the crowd and happily cried out; "It's not a monster! It's Links!" The wolf stopped baring his fangs when she ran up to him, draped her little arms around his neck, and patted him atop the head to prove that there was nothing to fear.

"Eh? The hell's a 'Links'? It looks more like a dog," grumbled a tall, muscular man with long, spiky black hair and metal-studded piercings on his face. His eyes were fierce and red and they were glaring at the wolf.

"He's my new… temporary pet," Bisca answered as she came into view, nudging through the gathered group. Link eased up at the sight of her.

"That's your new pet, Bisca? It's already a trouble maker," someone commented with a little chuckle. It was a short elderly man, only a little taller than young Asuka, with a white moustache and balding head.

"He's much cooler now that he's awake," said a boy with dark hair and wearing a yellow scarf, his eyes wide and full of admiration.

Bisca smirked. "Indeed he is. Though I really wish I can keep him. I unfortunately have to return him," she replied as she strolled towards the wolf and girl, the heel of her boots soundly clacking against the stone floor. She gave the animal a stern but worried look as she kneeled before him. "Are you hurt?" she quietly asked, looking him over and dusting off his back.

Link shook his head.

"What are you doing here and how did you get on the roof, Links? Is something wrong?"

He wasn't sure how to respond to that. The wolf searched for the strange two-legged cats and found the black one just standing off to the side, watching him intently just like most of the guild. To the feline, he said; "Cat! Can you understand me? Please tell me you can."

The black cat raised his brow but said nothing in return.

"He's snarling at you, Pantherlily! I think he wants to eat you!" shouted the blue one in terror, clearly speaking in the human tongue. When Link glanced over, it cowered behind the legs of a young blonde-haired woman.

"No… I don't believe so..." the dark feline replied, able to communicate with the other people as well. He narrowed his gaze inquisitively and crossed his arms over his chest.

Link was extremely disheartened. Neither of the talking cats understood his speech, casting away the only hope he had. His head drooped to the floor only to have a hand gently lift his chin so his saddened gaze fell on Bisca. Lightly, she brushed her fingers through his mane and said, "Don't look so sad, little guy. I know you're desperate to go home. I promised I will help you and I will, cross my heart. However, it won't be today, and it likely won't be tomorrow, but I _will_ find a way to get you back." Her smile was genuine as were her words.

Link could only nod in understanding.

She gave him a little scratch behind his ears. "Had enough adventure yet? Come on, let's go back to my place," she said, standing up.

After exchanging good-byes and good-nights, the crowd gradually returned to their drunken festivities, not caring that there was a new hole in the roof, broken dishes and glasses, smashed up tables, and two unconscious bodies lying prone on the floor with one of them stripped naked. These people were truly abnormal (or too drunk with most of them not really showing it).

Smiling, Asuka gestured for Link to follow her as she was first to sprint to the double doors. In a slower, downtrodden pace, he went after her, dragging the short chain bound to his foot across the floor. Behind him were the child's parents. He glanced at the unmoving young men as he passed them by, a little surprised and a little relieved they were still alive after having their faces buried into the stone.

Link could breathe freely the instant he stepped into the fresh night air. He stopped to peer up at the roof, unable to find Nene. The tigress was likely hiding somewhere nearby.

Bisca patted him atop the head, prompting him to keep moving.

It was a quiet stroll to Bisca's home. Asuka wanted to play with the wolf while on route, but Link was in no mood to oblige. He kept in pace alongside the married couple, paying no heed to his surroundings.

Once they had reached their home, Link went straight to his temporary bed within the steel cage left inside the pen and dropped like a rock on the soft blanket cover. He heaved a deep, weary sigh and closed his eyes.

It wasn't long before he caught the familiar scent of a tigress as she trotted up to his cage.

"That didn't go well, did it?" Nene asked, amused.

Link said nothing, keeping his eyes shut.

The feline was quiet for a moment. She soundly moved to lie beside his cage, her head right by his. "Cheer up, pup. You will get home eventually… The mistress will not fail you," she tried to reassure, speaking as soft as a carnivorous feline could.

The wolf grunted and muttered under his breath; "By then… it might be too late…"

"Too late for what?"

_Too late to save her and her realm…_ was his answer but he kept his mouth shut; too frustrated and disappointed at how his current situation was turning out. "It is late… I wish to sleep."

Nene quietly snorted. "All right." She stayed by his side for the rest of the night.

* * *


	3. The Beginning of a New Quest

Alzack Connell carefully sipped his hot, morning coffee as he sat upon a stool at the bar in Fairy Tail. Seated beside him was Macao Conbolt, formerly the Fourth Master of the guild, who was busy listing the many dangers the gunslinger should look out for while out on a job request with Romeo. The younger man had lost track on how many times he had heard the same old warnings from the over-protective father whenever he was chosen to accompany Romeo. Having heard it enough times, Alzack had learned when to nod and mumble an appropriate response without needing to listen to a single word coming out of Macao's mouth.

"Mm-hmm, look out for poisonous snakes," he murmured automatically to something his guild mate had said as he placed his steaming mug back on the counter. His coffee was too hot to drink at the moment. Alzack glanced over at the Request Board, seeing young Romeo browsing through the limited postings available. It was the beginning of a new week. Around this time there would usually be one or two new requests for Fairy Tail which was a sad, dramatic decrease compared to the glory days seven years ago. Back then, there would have been over a hundred different clients each week asking specifically for Fairy Tail's help that the board itself couldn't be seen due to all the job postings. However, with the recent return of Master Makarov and the rest of the guild who had all disappeared on Tenrou Island, Alzack was confident Fairy Tail would gain back its reputation eventually. He even overheard Romeo mentioning to his father about competing in the upcoming annual Grand Magic Games to bring Fairy Tail's rank back to the top. That idea was still being heatedly debated between father and son.

The guild was nearly empty this morning with most members out of town and training. Others were away on jobs or running errands. It was so calm and relatively quiet with only Alzack, Mirajane, Romeo, and Macao occupying the hall.

Mirajane was at the board as well, pinning up a new request that had just arrived this morning. She started a conversation with Romeo, which Alzack couldn't catch a word of with Macao buzzing right in his ear. It seemed like the boy was rather curious about the new job posting when Mirajane gestured at it with a smile. Elated, the boy ripped the request off the board and ran over to the bar where his father and Alzack were waiting.

"What do you have there?" the gunslinger asked with a lopsided smirk, interrupting Macao.

Romeo held up the posting for both men to see. "Check this out! A holy sword was stolen from a temple at Lake Hemlock just last night and they're asking for someone to get it back," the novice mage began to explain. "They call the sword the 'Divine Blade From Heaven' because it _fell_ from the _sky_ over a week ago." He looked at Alzack, his eagerness never fading. "Didn't Bisca say Links might have fallen from the sky too? Do you think this is related?"

Alzack raised an eyebrow while Macao took the paper from his son's hands for a better look.

"Links? That big dog that fell from the roof?" Macao questioned as he continued to read, running a thumb over his freshly shaven chin.

"He's actually a wolf," the younger man corrected before crossing his arms in thought. "And yeah, Bisca did say he came from the sky…" At first, Alzack didn't believe his wife that the wolf had fallen from some floating island. Not wanting to argue, Bisca had told him to personally _ask_ the furry beast if the fact was true. He abided just to humour her only to come out surprised and impressed when he noticed the wolf understanding every spoken word.

The gunslinger looked up at the patched ceiling and temporarily fixed rafters. Three days had passed since the incident involving the sneaky wolf and an impulsive Iron Dragon Slayer. Since then, the animal never wandered near the guild again, but he did venture into town quite a few times over the past few nights, giving a number of people quite a scare and making Bisca worry for his safety. Clever and stealthy, Links was an incredibly intelligent animal that could somehow climb onto rooftops and sneak into buildings.

Bisca and Alzack had even caught the canine trying to enter the Caldia Cathedral through an open window late last night and the wolf wasn't alone, but working alongside with Nene the tigress, much to the mages' surprise. Links was obviously searching for something, not to steal food like he had done in Dahlias, however Bisca couldn't quite get an answer when she questioned the wolf during their walk back home.

The blue-eyed animal was a strange, fascinating creature that seldom behaved like an ordinary beast. Tame and nonaggressive, Links easily got along with all the other animals Bisca owned. He was a carnivore but did not act like a predator, preferring to be hand-fed rather than hunt. Interesting enough, he was also a picky eater; eating only meat that was cooked and served on a plate while ignoring table scraps that Asuka would sometimes like to sneak to him.

It wasn't difficult to read his emotions and lately, the wolf has been very depressed. Some nights he would howl when the moon was visible; his call sounding like a melody that was both lonely and eerie.

Bisca has been trying to help her furry friend over the past few days, but there was very little information she could gather on sky wolves and floating islands. Even Levy was out of luck and she was the best at finding the right information out of books and scrolls both ancient and new. The best Bisca could do when another day came up empty-handed was to stay by the wolf's side out in their yard and comfort him like she would a close friend.

"A sword from heaven, huh?" Alzack pondered out loud, wondering if the sword did have some relation to the mysterious wolf. Intrigued, the young man leaned over to take a gander at the job description that was a paragraph long on the piece of paper in Macao's hands.

' _ **URGENT! PLEASE HELP**_ _ **!**_ ' the title of the posting read in large, bolded letters; _'Scandalous thieves have stolen our sacred treasure, the_ _ **Divine Blade From Heaven**_ _late last night! This holy item is very important for it was bestowed upon the altar of our sacred temple by the divine Light God Himself! For eleven days we had guarded this wonderful gift that had gracefully fallen from the heavenly skies, but now the altar has been damaged and the sword stolen! We beseech the brave and just to retrieve it immediately! We will pay a handsome reward of 500,000 Jewels for the sword's return!_

' _Signed – Priest Jarron T. Alfreed_

' _Temple of the Light God – Lake Hemlock'_

_Eleven days ago?_ That was around the same time Links was spotted in Dahlias according to Bisca. And Lake Hemlock was located somewhere near the village as well, if Alzack knew his geography right. The connection between these two facts might not be a coincidence.

"You know, this could be an actual clue to where Links might have come from," Alzack commented, feeling hopeful. Although he was skeptical about the 'holy' sword being a gift from some Light God considering he was not a big believer in great deities and the like. The sword might have just fallen from the sky much like how Links had presumably fallen as well. If that was true, did Links' owner plummet to earth along with the beast? Would that person even survive the fall? Links somehow did without any major injury so it was possible his owner did as well.

Romeo brightened. "We should bring Bisca! I know she'd like to investigate this," he said.

"She'd definitely jump on board after she hears about this," replied the gunslinger, grinning. His wife would no doubt stop what she was doing, pack whatever she needed, drop off Asuka with Mirajane, and leave town within an instant once the exciting news reached her. Links has been on her mind since his arrival and whatever troubled her troubled Alzack as well. Her love for her pets was as grand as the tallest mountains in Earthland. She would do anything to make them happy no matter how difficult the feat, something Alzack admired and respected to this day.

Every one of Bisca's animals was a part of her family. And when Alzack married her, her family became his family. It took time and effort to gain the trust of each beast, but Alzack has finally gotten the hang of understanding and befriending every furry, scaly, feathery, or hairless creature that belonged to his wife as well as every other new addition. Caring for animals and raising Asuka together has brought happiness and joy to the couple. There was nothing they would not do to cheer up their daughter and their pets.

Macao held up a hand and began to shake his head. "Hold it. This was a robbery. You're not thinking of doing this, are you, Romeo? This is an A Rank mission. I'm not allowing it," he told his son.

Romeo's excitement deflated like a balloon. He started to pout. "But Dad! I'll be with Alzack _and_ Bisca! There's nothing to be worried about," the boy tried to assure.

Before the father could argue, Alzack patted the older man's shoulder and stated, "Your boy's becoming a man, Macao. It's time for him to move on from C's and B's. I did my first A Rank around his age and it went pretty well. For the most part." Alzack mumbled the last part under his breath. Thankfully Macao didn't catch it.

The former master of Fairy Tail grunted and gave both males a stern, disapproving look. He waved the job posting in the air and said, "This doesn't say how many thieves there were. What if there are twenty of them involved? All armed and dangerous? Members of a Dark Guild even? I don't want to put your life at risk, Romeo."

Alzack scratched the side of his cheek and frowned. "I suppose it doesn't say much about the thieves. But they did steal something pretty valuable so they could possibly be very dangerous."

"What if it's only one person? I'm not afraid of finding out. I'm still going! I know how to defend myself!" Romeo exclaimed defiantly.

"Romeo," Macao began in a firm tone.

"If you're in doubt, why not ask Erza to join you?" Mirajane suddenly interrupted from behind the two men. Unnoticeably, she had strolled behind the counter of the bar during the men's discussion and had already topped their mugs with fresh coffee. She wore a knowing smile. "It won't matter how many thieves there are with Erza on your team. I'm sure she won't hesitate to help because this 'Divine Blade From Heaven' will likely catch her attention. Am I right, Erza?" She shifted her blue eyes to the side and raised a silver-white eyebrow at the empty seat right beside Alzack.

Except it wasn't empty any more.

"Hm. You know me too well, Mira," spoke the person none other than Titania herself.

Startled, Alzack nearly fell off his stool at the armoured woman's sudden appearance. He didn't hear her approach at all; neither of the males did, so it was a shocking surprise to find her sitting on a stool, dressed in her normal armour and skirt, calmly drinking from a cup of tea and acting as if she was there from the beginning. "E-Erza! When did you get here?!" he cried, straightening in his seat.

The scarlet-haired mage lightly smirked at the gunslinger's reaction when she faced the men. "Only a few minutes ago. 'Divine Blade From Heaven'… Sounds interesting," she mused, stirring her tea with a spoon. She took a small sip and placed the cup on her saucer. "I'd like to take a look at it and see if it really is worthy to be called divine. I will accompany you two on your quest. You wouldn't mind, would you, Alzack?"

The gunslinger quickly shook his head. "N-Not at all. It… would be a good idea." And possibly terrifying at the same time knowing how merciless Titania could be against those that have done wrong, resulting in high collateral damage to surrounding buildings, structures, and whatnot (though not as high as Natsu who tended to get carried away).

"What of you, Macao?" Her brown eyes flickered to the older man, making him flinch.

"Err, n-no… It's fine, I suppose," Macao stuttered as he ran a nervous hand through his gelled, dark purple hair.

"Does that mean I can go?" Romeo questioned his father with hopeful eyes.

"Well…"

"I don't see why not," Erza intruded, raising her brow as if challenging the former master.

Macao had no choice but to relent. He sighed. "You can go, Son. Just keep an eye on him, will you, Erza? Keep him out of trouble."

Erza smirked and nodded. "Understood." She finished her tea in one gulp, slid off her stool and started to leave. Her armour softly clanged as she calmly strolled away. "Let's go tell Bisca," she said, motioning for her newly established team to follow her without looking back.

Romeo was excited again. "Bye, Dad! Thanks for letting me go! Bye, Mirajane!" he exclaimed and ran to join up with Titania.

"Good luck!" was the silver-haired mage's cheerful reply as she waved goodbye.

When Alzack stood up, Macao cleared his throat to catch the other's attention. "Be sure to protect Romeo from Erza let alone those thieves," whispered Macao, moving to take a drink of his coffee.

The gunslinger chuckled humorously and patted the older man's shoulder. "He'll be in good hands. Don't worry… too much." With that, he gave Macao and Mirajane a small wave of farewell before catching up with his new teammates waiting by the doors of Fairy Tail.

* * *

"I'm envious. I want to come too," stated Nene with a noticeable pout in her tone. Sitting on her haunches, the tigress flicked her tail from side to side in aggravation and snorted. The morning sun was shining down in her green eyes and making her scowl so she appeared extremely disgruntled. She looked ready to kill whatever dared crossed her path, but Link knew that wasn't the case.

"Don't be sad, Nene," said Mula in a futile attempt to cheer up the striped cat. However, the chestnut-coloured mare couldn't hide her own excitement as she stomped her two front feet, a habit she often did when she was happy. All saddled up and carrying leather bags full of gear, Mula was ready to go on an adventure with her rider, Bisca.

"It may be a long and dangerous journey. It is best you do not come with us," Link told his feline friend as he gave her an apologetic look. Gathered before him were most of Bisca's pet animals as he waited near the yellow back door to the mistress's home.

News of a sword fallen from the sky had brought him out of his misery and brewing frustration that had developed over the past few days. He was anxious to leave and search for the weapon at once. When he had overheard the young boy named Romeo explain to Bisca about the 'Divine Blade From Heaven', the wolf knew immediately that it was the Master Sword. It just _had_ to be.

He was tired of waiting and had grown weary from searching Magnolia every night for a piece of information only to be greatly disappointed by the light of each dawn. (Only once he was caught guilty of wandering into places he shouldn't be going into. Bisca had scolded him for that.)

It was a true blessing to finally have a clue come to him in the form of a job request picked up by young Romeo. However, according to the description, the sword was _stolen_. Knowing that angered the wolf deeply. He was so close yet still very far from breaking out of his current predicament.

It wasn't difficult to convince Bisca to bring him along on this mission. His desperation had shone through when he ran up to the group consisting of Bisca, her husband Alzack, Romeo, and the scarlet-haired woman equipped in steel, also known as Erza, the frightfully strong alpha-female of Fairy Tail that Link had seen back at the guild four nights ago. Erza wasn't around at the moment but had shortly left to obtain her own mount at the town's stables after Bisca had quickly agreed to join in on the job request.

Bisca had understood then that the holy sword mentioned in the posting was indeed what he was looking for all this time. However, she interpreted it as his 'owner's' lost weapon and not his, not that he could blame her for the mistake. Link was quick to ignore the misinterpretation since the green-haired mage was willing to take him with her team to the temple that once held the sacred weapon.

Located in Lake Hemlock, the temple was somewhere near the village Link had stumbled upon over a week ago. As Alzack had mentioned to his wife, his assumption of the heavenly sword's descent and the time Link was first reported in Dahlias was not coincidental. The wolf had nodded vigorously to convince the humans that Alzack's assumption was right.

They were almost ready to depart. Bisca was inside packing up a number of things for her daughter's caretaker while Alzack wasn't too far away, strapping a bridle on his mount, Hefnir, a giant, flightless bird called an ostwark.

Standing taller than any man on two strong, white, scaly legs that ended with three-toed, clawed feet, Hefnir was big enough to carry two full grown adults on his back. He was a beautiful creature having feathers that gleamed like silver in the light, a long, slender neck, a crimson, pointed beak made for spearing fish, and a showy crown of deep blue feathers sprouting atop its head. His glossy black tail feathers were always fanned out in an attractive display with each short feather ending in a soft, reddish tuft.

Even though he had broad wings, Hefnir could not fly. But that didn't mean he was helpless on land. Ostwarks were amazingly fast runners; much faster than any horse. Just the other day, Link, Mula, and Hefnir had a race around the yard. Before the horse and wolf were even half-way done, they were overlapped by the big bird.

The animals that have gathered were either wishing Link good luck in finding his lost sword or commenting on how jealous they were of Link, Mula, and Hefnir going on an adventure with their mistress. Others wanted to make sure Link would protect Bisca and her husband due to the dangerous nature of some guild missions.

"Do you truly believe this sword is yours?" Arber the gray elephant questioned, tilting his great head at the wolf while tapping the end of his trunk against his forehead.

Link nodded. "Yes. I have a good feeling that it is," he replied.

"And if it is not?"

The wolf's hope did not falter at the possible truth. "I pray the Gods are good. But if my prayers are not heard, then I will have to keep searching. Day or night, I will find it within these lands."

"Quite the ambition," commented Veneer, the one-humped camel. "These lands are vast and endless. You'll need help searching every corner and rolling over every rock. But I do hope you find it quick. To see you turn from a beast to a man would be very, very amusing." He peeled back his droopy lips and laughed his goat-like laugh.

Finik the crocodile croaked to join the camel in laughter. The large reptile turned his head sideways to peer at Link and show his toothy smile. "Still hard to believe what you really are. You're neither a wolf or a man to me. You have to prove you're truly a man that can walk on two legs, Metal Doggy."

" _Link,_ " the wolf corrected in a firm tone. He had this argument so many times already. The 'Metal' part of the childish and absurd name no longer applied to him. The iron shackle he once wore was removed by one of Bisca's guild mates; the man named Gajeel. He was the same individual responsible for punching holes through the rafters and the roof in Fairy Tail when trying to attack Link four nights ago.

Gajeel was a cocky, arrogant man and a complete opposite to his companion, the small, blue-haired girl named Levy. The kind, knowledgeable girl had stopped by Bisca's home in the evening a day after the incident to check on Link as well as to deliver her disheartening news that there was nothing she could find about floating islands and other sky-related mysteries. Gajeel happened to tag along that day and the reunion between the man and wolf was bittersweet.

The tall, young man with long, spiky black hair, fierce crimson eyes and numerous piercings on his mean face was a special mage that could turn any part of his body into solid iron. Not only that, he could _eat_ iron as well; an astonishing ability he had demonstrated right before Link's eyes when he turned his teeth into pointed fangs and bit off the shackle on the wolf's foot. He then crunched on the chains like they were some delicious snack, leaving Link wide-eyed and staring.

Even though the shackle was gone, the name 'Metal Doggy Wolf King' still stuck with Link among the animals, annoying him to no end.

Finik and Veneer shared another laugh at the wolf's reaction with a few others joining in.

"Now, now. Don't tease our Link too much," Caramel the giraffe lightly scolded the sniggering group in her soft, tender voice. She was the most unique animal Link had ever seen, towering over all who were present. Covered in yellow, light brown-spotted fur, she was the tallest creature residing on Bisca's home with long legs and a longer neck that could stretch half as high as the tallest trees that grew around here. Link was a little intimidated when he first saw Caramel, but that had all changed in a matter of seconds. The giraffe was a kind and gentle herbivore with a motherly personality. She acted like a mother to all the beasts around her, often grooming them, making sure they properly fed and their health was well, and would always break up an argument or fight using words or threats. A kick from her hind legs could probably send any misbehaving animal - other than Arber - soaring over the treetops.

She was their guardian and no other animal dared to defy her.

Link was not an exception to her affection.

Caramel lowered her head right above the canine and licked his forehead with her long, black tongue. He shrank away from her like a fussy child pulling away from a mother's brush. Her dark eyes glinted with an amusing smile. "Darling, be sure to keep your ears clean and your hair nice and tidy. May you find what you are looking for. Please come visit us again. Though the time you spent here was short, this place will still be your home and you a part of our family."

"Hey, hey! Stop talking like the pup's not coming back!" Nene exclaimed with a growl. She stood up and hardened her gaze at the wolf. "You _are_ coming back, right?" she demanded as she brusquely padded towards the other.

_Only if time would allow me…_ There was some unfinished business Link had to attend to in the Twilight Realm first. There was no reason to come back with Bisca if the 'Divine Blade From Heaven' was truly the Master Sword.

But even if he did obtain his sword, he wasn't sure how to return directly to the Palace of Twilight without entering the Mirror of Twilight located in the Gerudo Desert. He was in a land far from Hyrule and needed a way back to his homeland and in order to do that, he may need to rely on Bisca and her guild once more.

Link evenly met the tigress's intent stare. "There is something I must do when I find my blade. Something important before it is too late. However, if I cannot do it alone – when my path is still lost – then I will return. You will see me then," he told her and everyone else.

Nene's expression softened, her ears drooping slightly. She drew closer and surprised the wolf by rubbing her cheek against his. Since she was bigger than Link, she nearly pushed him over. "I know you want to go back to your home," she said sadly as he regained his balance. "I will miss you if you do not come back. Call me selfish all you want, but I want to see you again, pup, man or beast."

Link internally smiled. Since the night of the incident at Fairy Tail, Nene had rarely left Link's side. The two of them had bonded and became good friends over the past few days exploring the town of Magnolia and the wilderness surrounding it. They had caused quite a start a few times when they were spotted leaping from rooftop to rooftop in the middle of the night and an even bigger commotion when they were caught trying to enter the grand cathedral located at the heart of the town through an open third-story window.

Each of Bisca's animals has treated him as their brother since the day he had arrived. It was difficult to suddenly leave them without a proper goodbye. "I promise you all, I will come back again to see everyone," he assured, meeting every pair of eyes that differed in colour, shape, and size.

"You better keep your promise," Nene purred. She raised her big paw and lightly patted the wolf's back.

"Indeed. Do not disappoint us," Arber added, a hint of a smile in his expression.

By then, the yellow back door creaked open. First to run out in a blur of tan and white was Taper, the family dog. Less than half the size of Link but three times as energetic, the small canine with pointed ears and a curly tail was a playful little creature.

"Link! Links! Doggy King!" Taper barked in a child-like voice. He leapt down the short set of stairs and zoomed towards the wolf.

"It's Metal Doggy Wolf King," Veneer corrected with a snide grin.

"No. It's _Link_ ," Link corrected once again, nearly growling out his own name. It didn't seem like the dog was listening to either as he ran a circle around the wolf and Nene.

"I heard you are going on an adventure with the mistress!" Taper cried out in excitement. He stopped before the larger canine, rose on his hind legs and pressed his front paws on Link's chest to stay upright, his tail wagging wildly. "I want to come too! Can I?! Please take me with you!"

When Link tried to look down at the smaller animal, Taper licked the wolf's nose. Link snorted. He was used to the dog's fondness for him. Every day the little guy wanted to play with him; jumping on the bigger one's back or playfully nipping Link's ears or the end of his tail. "I am sorry, Taper. You cannot come," Link told the other, shaking his head.

The curly tail stopped wagging and the pair of brown eyes that stared up in affection was suddenly full of grief. Taper was completely devastated. "Why?!" he wailed, completely heartbroken.

Before Link could explain to the child of a dog, Arber cut in; "You have an important duty, Taper, and that is to stay here and guard the house when our mistress and her family are gone."

Taper perked up at that. He was back to his cheerful, tail-wagging self. "You're right! The house would be in danger if I leave! Sorry I can't come, Wolf Link King!"

"It is only Link, Taper," the wolf grumbled, rolling his eyes before giving the elephant a nod of thanks. Of course, Taper wasn't listening to him as the dog dashed off towards the approaching group of people.

Asuka was sprinting in Link's direction while Bisca and Romeo were calmly walking behind. The happy little girl petted Nene's head as she passed before wrapping her arms around the wolf's neck. "Bye bye, Links! Take care of Momma and Daddy and Romeo while you're gone!" she said, gently stroking the back of his mane and resting her head against his cheek. She smelled of lilacs, much like her mother.

Grunting softly, Link nodded, putting a wider smile on her face. Mula and Hefnir weren't forgotten by the young girl; she ran up to them and said her goodbyes to them as well, kissing the mare's nose and rubbing the bird's beak.

Bisca kneeled before the wolf, her red lips parting to form a broad grin. She scratched behind his ear and said, "This is it. We're going to find what you've been looking for. Are you ready?"

She didn't need to ask. Meeting her violet eyes, he stood up and nodded.

"It'll probably take four hours to reach Lake Hemlock. Think you can run that far?"

That was a silly question. Link had travelled through thick forests, ran across vast fields, journeyed beneath the earth in dark, dank tunnels, wandered the blistering seas of sand, climbed high, snowy mountains, and even explored a city hidden in the cloudy heavens, never tiring. Four hours on the road was nothing.

With bold confidence, he nodded again, bringing a wider smile on the green-haired woman's face. She playfully tousled his mane. "I have a gift for you." Appearing out of thin air in her open palm was a wide, solid, golden bracelet engraved with runes, similar in design to the one Nene wore on the base of her tail. "It's finally finished. This will help me find you if you ever wander too far and lose your way." She held out her hand, expecting the wolf to give her his paw.

Link hesitated only to be nudged by Nene into accepting the gift. He wasn't exactly fond of the idea that he could be tracked down no matter where he was. However, Earthland was a vast region as Veneer had mentioned. It was possible for him to get lost along the way to Lake Hemlock due to some unforseen circumstances. With that in mind, he allowed Bisca to clasp the bracelet around his front right foot, replacing the iron shackle he had once worn. Gleaming in the sun, it was the perfect fit. He let out a quiet grunt as a sign of thanks.

The mistress chuckled. "Looks good on you, my little friend. All right! Let's go!" she announced, giving the wolf one last pat on the head.

With everything packed and tied to the saddles, Bisca lifted Asuka onto Mula before mounting behind her daughter. Riding on Hefnir's back with Alzack was Romeo who sat in front.

Bisca steered Mula around and snapped the horse's reins to make the mare break into a trot. "I'll meet you guys at the town gate," she said before she vanished from sight around the house. She was on her way to drop Asuka off at Fairy Tail where her daughter would be looked after. As for the animals, someone named Lisanna would be attending to those that needed to be fed and watered by hand in the family's absence.

"Links, come with me," said Alzack, gesturing for the wolf to follow him as he pressed his heels into Hefnir's side.

The ostwark happily squawked "Going! Going!" and began to strut, going down the same path Mula had gone. His head bobbed with each step, making his crown of brilliant feathers dance with the movement.

As the wolf fell in stride behind the giant bird, Nene shouted out; "Don't forget your promise, pup!"

The canine paused and looked over his shoulder to give the tigress and everyone else a meaningful look. Their expressions ranged from sadness to understanding. "Do not worry. I always keep my promises," he assured, showing his teeth in an attempt to physically smile. "We will meet again. Until then, stay out of trouble. All of you."

He raised his nose to the sky and howled as a way of saying goodbye for now. In return, Nene let out a mighty roar, Arber trumpeted, Taper tried to mimic the wolf's cry; all animals that could make noises shrieked, snarled, grunted, clucked, hissed, and screamed to send off their friend whom they hoped to see again.

 


	4. Temple of the Light God

The midday sun was shining hot and bright on the beautiful land below. The sky was clear and the day was calm, not a single leaf stirred in the trees or plants growing by the small stream that sparkled in the light. The blades of green only rustled when the bodies of living creatures disturbed them as they passed through.

The sound of running water was soon accompanied by the lapping of thirsty tongues and the song of an ostwark.

"Drinking! Drinking!" Hefnir sang before he dipped his crimson beak in the stream, scooped up some water, and reared back his long neck and head to swallow his drink. He did this a few more times, singing cheerfully before each gulp.

After Link had quenched his thirst alongside the big bird, he quietly watched the ostwark in amusement. To the wolf's right was Mula, noisily slurping, and beside her was Big Joe, equally as loud.

Big Joe was Erza's borrowed mount who was a large, male caribou with a light brown coat, a white underbelly and beard, and an impressive set of antlers. On his shoulder was a patch of white fur in the shape of Fairy Tail's crest, signifying he was owned by the guild and was one of their main forms of transportation. The four-legged, hoofed animal was just as tall as Mula, bulkier in build, and, surprisingly, just as quick as the mare. He had a carefree temperament and a deep, hearty laugh that resonated within Link's chest when the wolf had first heard it.

Behind the animals were the four mages of Fairy Tail, resting, chatting, and eating their lunch under the shade of trees that stretched along the main road. Riding atop the three mounts with Link keeping in pace, the group had been travelling non-stop for two hours straight, running most of the way over hills and through vast open fields of green. It was time for a little break before continuing on. According to Bisca, their destination was another two hours or more.

The land of Fiore was full of surprises. During the past two hours on the road, Link had encountered many different things he had never seen before. There were magical carriages that could move without horses or any other animal to pull them, there were people single-handedly pulling magical carts that could carry goods that were stacked as high as the roofs of houses, and there was a man riding on a strange contraption that had two wheels and two pedals on gears in which he used to kick in circles to power his ride.

Most intriguing of all, was the huge, long, metal, smoke-spewing _machine_ that could pull multiple carriages down a railed path along the countryside at an incredible speed. Link had seen it thundering around the hills not too long ago before the group entered the first cover of trees.

Curious to know what that thing was, he asked Mula right after she finished her drink.

The mare, licking her wet lips, tilted her head slightly at Link and blinked. She stomped her front right foot in the mud when she finally understood. "Oh! You mean the train?" she said, neighing with laughter at the other's cluelessness.

"Train?" It was the wolf's turn to tilt his head to the side in confusion. To him, 'train' meant to hone one's skill with something, such as a bow or a sword or a trade. It was odd to call an object by that term.

"Train is train," said Hefnir, happily joining the conversation. The bird always had a certain joyfulness in his high tone, making him a pleasure to talk to in spite of his simple speech. "Train bigger than ostwark," he faced Link and spread his silver wings wide to elaborate, "Train faster than ostwark. Carry more short time."

Link's eyes widened in disbelief. "Even faster than you, Hefnir? It looked just as fast as you can run."

The big bird squawked humerously and stiffly shook his head twice, making his feathery crown of deep blue sway with the motion. "Train beat ostwark, brother. Does not tire," he chirped before going on to preen the feathers of his right wing. "Preening! Preening!" he sang as he worked.

"You've never seen a train, Link?" Mula asked, lowering her head to be at the wolf's eye-level.

"No, where I come from, there is no such thing," Link replied. He was bewildered by the existence of a mechanical contraption capable of pulling multiple carriages full of people at once at an incredible speed.

"Ho ho, don't go out much, do you, fanged one?" teased Big Joe in his deep, burly voice, giving the canine a yellow-toothed grin. His white beard was soaked and dripping.

The wolf grunted in response and didn't bother to explain himself because Hefnir beat him to it; "Brother from far away land."

The caribou stepped around Mula and approached Link curiously. He sniffed the air in front of the wolf and hummed in thought, his throat rumbling. "You do have a peculiar smell. I've been nearly all over this country with our humans and yet I don't recognize your kind of scent. How far have you come?"

"The sky!" the mare exclaimed in excitement at the same time Hefnir cried out, "Brother from sky!"

Big Joe laughed, his loud chortles reverberating in Link's chest and deafening his poor ears. "I suppose you wouldn't be able to see any trains up there!" he joked, obviously not believing them.

"Friend, why laugh?" Hefnir demanded of the laughing caribou, and yet his tone was still cheery. "Sister and ostwark say true."

The wolf internally smiled. "It is fine. It is a tale that is difficult to believe. Even you thought I was lying."

The bird sadly lowered his head, his sharp, crimson eyes flashing with guilt.

"Do not apologize," Link politely interrupted, knowing what his feathered companion was about to say, "It is not every day that you meet a wolf that is truly a man who fell from another realm from the sky."

"What's this now?" Big Joe asked, still giddy from before. "You're a _man_ , you say? Amusing! You amuse me, fanged one!" Again, the burly beast broke into a fit of laughter.

Link bared his teeth in a grin, remembering Nene saying something similar.

They left the stream and went their separate ways, wandering around in wait for Bisca and her team to finish their lunch. Mula and Big Joe foraged around for edible plants while Hefnir strutted over to the small circle of mages.

Link decided to trail behind the big bird out of curiosity. From afar, the wolf observed as Hefnir approached Alzack and gently prodded the man's back with his beak, silently asking for a snack.

The dark-haired man glanced over his shoulder at his two-legged mount with feigned annoyance before smiling soon after. Alzack ripped off a piece of bread from his sandwich which was quickly plucked from his fingers and gobbled up by a hungry ostwark before he could even properly hand it off. Hefnir immediately begged for another tasty morsel, making the man sigh.

"You already ate before we left, Hef," Alzack grumbled, giving the bird a stern look. The man eventually gave in to Hefnir's pleading gaze. "Fine. One more."

Bisca giggled at the pair before quickly noticing Link slowly approaching, catching his watching gaze. She waved and called him over, and since the wolf had nothing better to do, he padded towards the mages, interested in meeting the rest of the mistress's team.

The young boy named Romeo greeted Link with a friendly smile, his wide, dark eyes admiring the beast as the wolf sat between him and Bisca. The child looked no older than Talo, and rather than learning the way of the sword, Romeo was learning the art of magic. It was astounding to see children as young as or even younger than Romeo capable of conjuring spells and the like.

Across from him was the armoured woman, Erza, who simply raised her brow at the beast's arrival as she finished the last bite of her meal. This would be the first time the two had actually met person to person – or to be more precise, person to wolf – since they had left Magnolia Town.

Up close, the 'alpha-female' of Fairy Tail did not appear as frightening as the first night Link had seen her. She was a bold woman going by looks alone, dressed in steel plating and having a face that was both beautiful and fearless. But looks were deceiving; Erza was strong enough to knock out her own guild mates with a single fist, burying their faces in solid stone with a fury that matched a demon's.

Knowing this made Link wonder how merciless she was against her enemies. It was a curious and somewhat frightening thought.

What interested him most was if she could defeat a Goron in Sumo. He could somehow imagine the scarlet-haired woman easily throwing her large, rock-eating opponent out of the ring like he was only a sack of feathers…

The delicious aroma of the group's food was starting to make Link's mouth water. His peckish mood did not go unnoticed under the keen eye of an animal keeper.

"Are you hungry, little guy?" Bisca asked, perking an eyebrow at Link.

Not wanting to trouble her, he shook his head.

Bisca chuckled and lightly brushed her knuckles against his furry cheek, drawing a slightly annoyed grunt from the beast. "Don't be shy, Links. I know you're hungry. Here." Out of thin air, she magically summoned a ceramic plate that already had a few chunks of roasted turkey on top in her hand. The magic of conjuring objects out of nowhere didn't surprise the wolf anymore having witnessed it so many times.

Magic in Fiore was abundant; from what Link had observed and from what Nene had told him back in Magnolia Town, it seemed like magic and magical objects were used in everyday life for the people. Heat for warmth and cooking, sources of light as bright as the sun, storing food and fresh ingredients in a cold box – all these convenient things were provided by special crystals called _Lacrima_ and enchanting runes.

And then there were the mages, people born with magic. They were not just street performers, entertainers, or fortune tellers; they were the skilled warriors, the mercenaries, the protectors of peace and bringers of justice in this land, according to Nene's stories. Guilds consisting of mages, much like Fairy Tail, provided a service for the people by maintaining order and helping others upon their request.

The Kingdom of Hyrule paled in comparison to what the land of Fiore was capable of in terms of magical advancements that vastly improved the lifestyles of the common folk. Even the architecture of buildings was well-advanced with metal pipes that brought clean, fresh water to homes, eliminating the need to draw water from a well or stream. Then, of course, there was the train; travelling from one major town to another did not require days on the road, but only hours. (However, it did not beat teleportation by the power of Twilight.)

Everything in Fiore was truly fascinating and full of new wondrous things, but in spite of it all, Link still yearned to return to his homeland.

He had a duty to fulfill and a promise to keep.

Bisca placed the plate of food on the ground in front of Link and said with a kind smile, "Enjoy the little snack, my friend. We'll be leaving soon, don't worry."

The wolf quietly snorted, always impressed by the woman's ability to sense what was on his mind. He politely nodded at her in thanks and began to devour his turkey, loving the taste of her cooking.

While he enjoyed his meal, Erza remarked, "You're right, Bisca, he really does have gorgeous blue eyes."

Link stiffened, but pretended not to hear the comment as he kept his attention on his plate, suddenly feeling uncomfortable to be the centre of attention. If he had the face of a man, his cheeks would no doubt be red with embarrassment…

The green-haired woman giggled. "They're as blue as the sky that he fell from," she said, gently stroking the back of the wolf's mane, making Link mentally grumble. She let out a big sigh. "Oh, I wish I could keep him! He's such a smart fellow too."

"Is that so?" the other woman asked, sounding intrigued.

While Bisca went on to list some of Link's 'unique behaviours' that defined him as intelligent from her point of view, he raised his head to meet Erza's stare once his plate was empty, seeing her studying him closely with her brown eyes. She was a warrior through and through; carefully assessing new friends and foes alike was a trait possessed only by skilled fighters and veterans of the battlefield. This woman had likely been involved in many battles in her short life. In a way, Erza reminded Link of Ashei.

Erza smiled at Link. "So this 'Divine Blade From Heaven' is what you're looking for?" she asked him personally after hearing Bisca's explanation.

Link nodded, confident that the stolen sword was truly the Master Sword.

The woman's smile twitched into a bemused smirk and her eyes narrowed inquisitively. "And this sword belongs to your master?"

_Its one true master is the Hero spoken in legends…_ He bowed his head which was mistaken for a nod.

The armoured mage crossed her arms and leaned back. "A holy sword from the sky…" she wondered aloud, looking towards the clear blue space above. "I'd like to meet him."

Link wanted to laugh, to bellow out as loud as Big Joe, but could only manage an amused snort.

_He is here before you._

A few minutes more and the mages of Fairy Tail were ready to continue on. Back on their respective mounts, the group travelled down the worn dirt path that led deeper into the forest, moving at a casual pace for the first hour so not to tire the animals too quickly.

Link had gone ahead, exploring the woods as well as scouting for any possible dangers. He ran through the wilderness like it was his home, feeling wild and free, as if a true beast. Perhaps it was because he had spent such a long time in the body of a wolf, something that had never happened before since his adventure in Hyrule had begun. He had forgotten what it felt like to run on two legs and to see, listen, and smell like an ordinary Hylian.

His heightened wolf senses could distinguish the many different songs of birds and the many different scents that made up the forest. The smell of the surrounding woods seemed familiar and it took a couple more heartbeats before he realized why. This was _Vespera_. He slowed to a prowling stride, recalling the day he had fallen into the river that was somewhere deep within.

He was back where he had started, but this time, he was neither lost nor alone. There were no hunters to track him either. The Master Sword had fallen in the same region, but now it has been taken. He prayed to the gods and guardians of Fiore that he would find his blade before it was too late to ever see it again.

* * *

Long after Bisca had grown bored of the same scenery consisting of nothing but trees and bushes and a dirt road, the forest had finally opened up to reveal the giant body of water sparkling under the sun that was bordered on one side by tall, rocky mountains and the thick, green forest on the other. She straightened in her saddle, her breath taken away by the serene landscape. Her wide violet eyes soaked in every detail that captivated her.

_Lake Hemlock at last,_ she thought with a pleased smile. She heard her husband voice the same thought behind her.

Taking the lead, the sharpshooter pressed her heels into Mula's side and snapped her reins to break the horse into a run. Steel hooves pounded the dirt. The path led straight down where a number of log cabins were built near the lakeshore and continued on, winding through a thin stretch of trees and towards the mountains. Somewhere up those tall rocky cliffs was the Temple of the Light God and their client.

Using her tracking spell, Bisca could sense Links up ahead, already by the lake water's edge. She proceeded in his direction, passing by the only man-made structures she had seen in the past four hours.

At first glance, the twenty identical average-sized cabins lined up in two rows of ten on either side of the wide path looked like ordinary leisure cabins often used by campers, but upon closer inspection, Bisca noticed some differences. There were fine details carved into every wooden log and plank, depicting an overlaying pattern of elaborate feathers. Even the clay shingles on the roofs were shaped into feathers, making it appear as if the wings of giant birds were protecting the insides of each building. Mounted above every door was the carved head of a majestic falcon that had a halo of white wood above it and a shining Light Lacrima orb clamped within its beak. There were rows of bell chimes tied on white rope hanging under the roofs, softly ringing in the gentle breeze, and on the top step of each cabin were old tin cans filled with ash and the ends of incense sticks.

Behind the cabins, Bisca spotted laundry poles with newly washed clothes hanging to dry under the sun.

These cabins were likely the homes of the religious group and it didn't seem like anyone was around.

"They're all probably at the temple," said Alzack when Romeo had voiced the same question that was on Bisca's mind.

"You guys go on ahead," Bisca told her team, giving them a wave without looking back, "I'm going to get Links."

She heard her husband and Erza soundly agree and directed their mounts to follow the trail that would take them to the mountains.

Bisca steered Mula off the dirt and into the tall grass towards the lakeshore. It didn't take long to find her canine friend sitting on the sandy beach, gazing across the expanse of deep blue water, seemingly entranced by the calm scene. His ears pricked at the sound of their approach, but his attention remained on the lake.

Mula went straight for the water for a quick drink giving Bisca some time to hop off her saddle to stretch out her stiff legs. Sighing in content, she joined Links on the warm, white sand and stared off at the glistening lake, listening to the calls of water fowl and birds and the splashing of waves. The cool wind felt like a blessing over her hot skin covered in a thin sheen of perspiration. Off to the side, near the muddy sections of the shore, she could see the abundant growth of plants the lake was named after, all in full bloom. Hemlock was pretty on the outside, but poisonous on the inside. She had to be careful that Mula and Big Joe would not venture over to eat them while they were here.

"Beautitful, isn't it?" she quietly asked Links.

The wolf nodded, the gesture always bringing a smile on her face. She wanted to stay there for a little longer to enjoy the moment of peace; however she didn't want to keep her team waiting. The mage reached over and gave her furry companion a little scratch behind the ear.

"The place we're looking for is somewhere up the mountains. I'm not sure how high it is. Ready for the climb?"

Links stood up and met her gaze with his pretty blue eyes that flashed with eagerness. He nodded twice, indicating he was more than ready.

"Alright!" Bisca jumped to her feet and dusted off her behind. She hopped back onto Mula's saddle and turned the mare around. "Stay on the trail going towards the mountains!" she shouted after the wolf that sprinted ahead.

Links stopped, looked over his shoulder and nodded, once again making the woman smile.

When he disappeared from sight round a bend behind some trees, Bisca's smile turned sad. "I'm going to miss him," she said to Mula, speaking of when Links would reunite with his master. The mare softly whickered and bobbed her head up and down as if to agree.

It could still be a while before the time comes. As selfish as it sounded, Bisca was hoping to have Links for just a little while longer.

The trail snaked through the thicket. Dirt gradually turned into hard rock. The mountain pass was a gentle slope that winded around patches of trees and boulders. With Mula trotting along the way, it was easy to catch up with the others who were moving at a leisurely pace.

It felt like an hour before the group reached the temple waiting at the end of the trail which, judging by the terrific view of the lake far below, was over half-way up the first mountain.

Bisca was in awe the instant she saw the temple; it was an enormous structure carved right into the dark gray mountain side. It was nearly as grand as the Caldia Cathedral, but simpler in design. Perfectly symmetrical, the temple had a large domed roof under the main body with two pairs of bell towers on either side, each one holding a large, golden bell. Carved artistically into the mountain wall above and behind the roof was a stylized falcon with its wings spread wide and its haloed head turned to the left, superimposed over a radiant sun.

If Bisca would have to guess, the Light God was believed to be a falcon-like being.

The entrance was at the top of a flight of stone stairs that looked as appallingly tall as half the distance the group had just climbed. After dismounting, Bisca craned her head and squinted against the sunlight to spot the very last step, feeling nothing but dread at the trial before her.

The sharpshooter was panting and sweating after climbing a quarter of the way and couldn't help but complain.

"Why… so… many… steps?" she rasped, lagging behind Erza, Romeo, and Links. Her husband was nice enough to keep her company.

Alzack chuckled and gave her a sympathetic pat on the back. "What's the matter? Out of shape?" he playfully teased with a snide grin. "You shouldn't eat too many of Mira's cakes."

She glared, suddenly feeling insulted. "Wait, are you saying I'm gaining weight?" she demanded, stopping abruptly to place her hands on her hips.

The man flinched back at her look and tone. He vigorously shook his head and waved his hands before him in defense. "N-No! Not at all! You look just the same as the day I married you!" he exclaimed sheepishly.

Bisca smirked and crossed her arms at his flattery. "Why, thank you, dearest. Now, how about you carry me to the top?"

"What?" Alzack gaped at her in horror.

Bisca's lips curled into a seductive smile as she lightly poked her husband's cheek. "You heard me, Al. As punishment for that previous comment, I order you to carry me to the top."

"But…"

She raised her brow in a challenging manner.

Without a proper argument, Alzack pouted. Knowing him, it didn't take long until he abided. He sighed in defeat before turning his back to his wife and crouching low so she could hop on.

Bisca was giggling in her husband's ear as she enjoyed the rest of the trip to the plateau. It was his turn to complain the rest of the way, but he was mindful not to make another comment about Bisca's weight.

By the time the couple reached the top platform, Erza, Romeo, and Links were already waiting by the closed entrance, glancing curiously at their surroundings. When Bisca hopped off her husband's back, Alzack soundly plopped onto the floor, exhausted.

Erza smirked at Bisca as the green-haired woman approached her waiting team. "Punishment?" Titania inquired, glancing at the man by the stairs who sounded as if he had just run a five-hour marathon.

"That's right," the sharpshooter answered with wink. She peered over at the large stone doors that bore the same carving as the haloed falcon and radiant sun. "Is no one here?"

"We just got someone to notify our client of our arrival," Erza explained. "We were asked to wait."

Bisca nodded and decided to look around, seeing another engraving of the holy falcon and its sun covering the centre of the rounded platform they stood on. There were columns supporting the overhanging ledge above them and bell chimes, similar to the ones seen on the cabins, hanging in single rows. The tinkling music was a pleasant sound to the ears, easily calming all who listened.

She noticed Links sniffing around the columns with Romeo staying close to the wolf.

Bisca was hopeful the wolf had picked up a familiar scent, but after Links wandered from one spot to another and eventually turned back around to join her, it didn't seem like he found anything.

It was another five boring minutes until the lines marking the stone doors began to shine with a white light. Startled, Bisca and Alzack, having finally regained his bearings a minute ago, jumped in alarm since both of them have not seen how the doors operated in the first place.

The two, heavy, stone slabs split apart and slid sideways into their respective walls to reveal two individuals dressed in white robes standing on the other side.

The strangers stepped out and once they were clear of the entranceway, the stone doors slid back into position and echoed with a _bam_ when the two halves collided in the middle.

Fairy Tail and Links gathered around the two people. One was a short, bald, and stout elderly man with a snow-white beard that grew down to his waist and snowy eyebrows that were thick and bushy, hiding his eyes from view. In his hand, he carried a staff that was double his height and composed of beautiful, white, entwining wood that twisted at the top to form the opened wings and head of a sacred falcon. Hovering above the bird's head and encircling its neck were two golden haloes that shone with a holy light. The magnificent staff was something Bisca had never seen before so it took a moment before she could pry her marveling eyes away from it to look over the other person standing beside the old man.

The other was a boy around his mid-teens who had a handsome young face and kind purple eyes. He had long blond hair that was neatly braided behind his back.

Their long, flowing robes were pure white with solid gold hems at the ends of the wide sleeves and the bottoms of their robes. They had belts of pale leather with a white-cloth pouch tied by one hip and a string of bells dangling on the other. Hanging down their necks were identical silver-chained necklaces that had a marble-sized Light Lacrima emitting a bright white glow as their pendants. Most unusual about their attire were the pairs of darkly tinted goggles resting atop their heads.

"Ah! Praise the Thirteen Gods," spoke the oldest of the two, clearly relieved by the sound of his tone. "I am truly blessed that you have accepted our request. I am Light Priest Jarron and this is my grandson, Rhyson. You all must be… uh, Fairy Tail, was it?"

"That is correct, sir," Erza answered first, acknowledging the pair with a firm nod. "We came as fast as we could. Can you tell us any more details about the theft other than what you have written on your posting?"

Priest Jarron wrinkled his brow and stroked his long beard as he hummed in thought. "Where to begin…" he murmured.

Bisca glanced at Links, seeing the wolf watching the men anxiously. "How about telling us what this 'Divine Blade From Heaven' looks like," she suggested.

"Ah! The sacred sword that was bestowed upon us," said the old man. Both followers of Light looked skyward, waved a hand over their shining pendants, and closed their eyes as if in silent prayer.

Bisca exchanged odd looks with her teammates, while Links simply tilted his head to the side, one ear twitching.

"A specimen of true divinity. You see, the majestic blade is forged from a metal unseen by this land," Priest Jarron continued, once again (somewhat) meeting the mages' stares. "It radiates a sacred light. White and pure. Its hilt, royal purple and flawless in which there lies a golden gem that glistens as if blessed by the sun."

"There's an engraving on the metal too," Rhyson began shyly, quick to turn red in the face when everyone's attention fell on him. He hastily reached into his pouch and pulled out a small scroll in which he unfurled to show a black-ink sketch. It was an octagon, and within that octagon was a large triangle consisting of four smaller triangles.

The instant Links saw the drawing, he perked up and nudged Bisca's leg with his nose to get her attention.

His blue eyes flickered from the scroll and back to Bisca, telling her that he recognized the symbol.

The sharpshooter gave him a curt nod and asked the pair in white, "Has there been anyone asking about this sword since it fell into your temple?"

The priest and his grandson both shook their heads. "No. No one other than our temple worship knew of the sword," Priest Jarron began, "The holy gift was granted only to us and so we had sworn to protect the sacred sword, keeping it a secret to the outside world, waiting for Light to guide the one worthy to claim its power. But then – oh tragic fate! It was… _stolen!_ Oh, Light God, forgive us! Forgive us!" His pleas for forgiveness dropped to a whisper.

Erza furrowed her brow and brought an armoured hand to her chin in thought. "You wished to keep it secret and yet you have requested the help of mages after it was stolen," she stated. "You have exposed the sword to all of Fiore. Was that your intention?"

"If it meant recovering the holy blade from scandalous thieves, then yes… it was intentional," the elder sighed. Although it was hard to tell due to his thick eyebrows, Bisca was certain he was looking between each member of Fairy Tail standing proudly before him. "Please, I ask you all to find the Divine Blade From Heaven. It is in the wrong hands and we wish to give it to its rightful owner. If it's not Jewels that you want, we have other treasures we can part."

"The Jewels are good enough," said Bisca, giving the pair a confident nod. "We'll do our best in finding this sword." _And its owner, right Links?_ She exchanged a knowing smile with her canine friend by her side.

"Hmm. If no one on the outside has seen this sword, then it's possible that someone on the inside has taken it for their own means," Erza deduced.

Both men in white were shocked by that possible belief. "No, that's impossible!" the Priest exclaimed. "All of us have sworn to Light to guide our ways. We are devout! Never to stray from our shining path. Greed has no place here."

"Well, not everyone can live such a boring life for so long I suppose," Alzack grumbled mostly to himself.

Bisca elbowed him in the ribs for the rude comment. "It's a possibility we can't overlook," she began, hoping neither of the followers of Light had overheard her husband. "Can we see the altar in which the sword was stolen? Maybe there will be some clues that will help us find out who really did it."

"The altar? Yes. Yes. You may," replied the priest as he shuffled around to face the door. He lightly tapped the floating, golden ring of his staff against the stone and activated the spell that controlled the doors. The engravings flashed white and the two slabs of stone soundly slid into the walls.

Before anyone could take a step, Rhyson nervously spoke up; "Um… There's no pets allowed inside... if that's okay?" He looked apologetically at Links and the mages.

Bisca could tell the wolf was not very happy. She placed a hand atop the head of her furry companion to calm him down. "You're mistaken," she said, "Links isn't a pet. He's a member of our team. You want to find those thieves fast, right? Well, our friend here has the nose for it. He can track them down."

Rhyson looked bashfully at his grandfather whom nodded. "Very well. The dog can come in," the elder complied, waving them all in.

"He's actually a wolf," Bisca murmured, although only a few heard her. She smiled nonetheless. Links nodded at her in appreciation and followed her into the entrance.

However, he didn't get very far. He let out a startled yelp a second before passing through the doorway.

Bisca twirled around and was kneeling before the stunned beast with worry. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"What's the matter?" asked Alzack as he and the others gathered around.

Links huffed and nodded at the entrance. He then cautiously approached the opening and slowly pawed the air where the doors normally closed shut. There was a brief flash of white electricity coming from an invisible energy barrier that shocked the wolf, forcing him to jerk away immediately.

Suddenly, Priest Jarron pointed the end of his holy staff at the beast and cried with indignation, "A demon?! You dare try to trick us?!"

Bisca quickly faced the angry old man and stood between his staff and Links while Alzack moved to stand protectively before his wife. Over Alzack's shoulder, Bisca tried to settle the unexpected situation.

"Whoa! Hey! Easy there," she said in a firm tone, speaking to the priest like he was a wild animal about to attack. "Links is _not_ a demon! I assure you!"

"Not a demon?" the priest demanded, his eyebrows knitted together in an angry scowl, "Then explain why that creature of yours cannot pass through Light's enchanted gate? Beings of the Dark cannot enter this sacred temple and your beast is one of them!"

It was Bisca's turn to be angry. She gently pushed her husband aside and moved to stand in front of the elder, her eyes ablaze. "So what if he can't enter? That's no reason to judge his nature because of that," she snarled. She glanced back at Links, meeting his bewildered stare. "He is not evil or any other dark creature you believe he is."

"Yeah, there's probably some kind of mistake," said Alzack.

"And he's not dangerous!" Romeo added, but the stubborn old man refused to listen to either.

Bisca knew with all her heart that Links was not a demon disguised as a wolf. He was no monster either. So why could he not pass through the holy barrier? There was no time to ponder over that, leaving her with no choice but to leave Links behind for a brief moment.

"He will stay out here, how about it?" Bisca suggested, keeping a stern expression. "He won't cause any trouble. We'll just take a quick look at the altar while he waits right here. We promise you, there will be no harm done to your people or your temple."

Priest Jarron stiffened his lower lip, obvious not liking the idea, while his grandson stood awkwardly beside him.

It took one tense minute before the old man finally relented. He pulled back his staff, tapped its pointy bottom against the floor, and said in a gruff tone, "May Light smite its wicked soul if it dares to trespass again. You may come in, but that creature must stay far from these doors, understand?"

Bisca reluctantly nodded. She truly did not want to subject her friend to such treatment, but there was little she could do to change the situation. She kneeled before Links and lightly scratched his chin in hope of cheering him up. "Best you stay by the steps, got it?" she whispered to him and he slowly half-nodded, obviously disgruntled by the sudden turn of events.

"We'll make sure to look for every clue we can get, don't worry."

Again he nodded, trusting her.

She gave him an assuring smile. As she stood, she kissed the top of his nose. "Be back soon."

"I can stay with him," Romeo offered, staying on the outside of the entrance while the others began to walk inside.

The sharpshooter smiled in thanks. "Sure. Both of you keep out of trouble," she warned teasingly, hoping to lighten the mood.

"We will," said Romeo, grinning. Links nodded and let out a short grunt.

The doors slid shut behind Bisca and collided with a loud _bam_ that echoed through the wide halls made of polished stone. As she silently followed her husband, she zoned out the priest's ramble about some ancient legend affiliated with their Temple of the Light God. All she could think about was the mysterious wolf she had left on the other side of the closed doors.


	5. Spirits of Light

Bisca had instantly grown bored of the many corridors that made up the Temple of the Light God. It was the same polished, gray floor, perfectly aligned stone-brick walls and falcon-head shaped sconces with Light Lacrima orbs held within their iron beaks. Occasionally there would be heavy, wooden doors, but each one was closed shut. Once, her group passed through what appeared to be a grand hall designed for large gatherings and that was the only time the scenery changed into something more interesting. The temple was built deep into a mountain, so windows were lacking. However, with all the Light Lacrima decorating the place, it was as bright as daylight inside – maybe even brighter.

The air was chilly and stale with old incense. Bisca was busy rubbing her bare arms covered in goosebumps as she was trying – but failing miserably – to pay attention to Priest Jarron's many tales. The old man droned on and on about the history of the temple and its people and its merciful Light God. _'Praise the Light! Praise our Thirteen Gods!'_ Blah blah blah.

It was too much to take in all at once.

Alzack was just as bored, trailing behind alongside Bisca. Erza, on the other hand, kept in pace with the priest and his grandson, appearing to be fascinated by every word spewing out of the old man's mouth. Bisca wasn't a religious person; she respected the people and their cultures and often found some things interesting. But right now, hearing about the Thirteen Gods continuously made Bisca want to shoot herself just to get away from the boredom.

"By their Thirteen Gods," she grumbled under her breath, loud enough for only her husband to hear, "How much farther until we can start doing what we actually came here to do?"

Alzack shrugged. "Praise those Thirteen Gods, I hope it's soon," he replied with a humorous smirk. "If not, I'll have to sleep-walk the rest of the way. Or," he leaned towards his wife, his smirk turning into a seductive smile, "you can carry me the rest of the way. Since I carried you up those steps, you can carry me across the temple. It's only fair."

Bisca lightly elbowed him in the stomach, making him jerk back. "Sorry, Al. No deal."

He pouted like a little boy. He took a quick glance behind him at the long, empty hallway and sighed. Most of the corridors they had passed through were void of people. Sometimes they were greeted by other followers but those moments were so far in between. "Feels like we've been walking for _hours_. Does this temple go all the way through the mountain? Do you remember him saying that?"

"I think so. I wasn't really paying attention in the beginning."

Alzack cocked an eyebrow. "You 'think so'? That means no, right? I don't blame you for not listening to his babble."

She wagged a finger at him. "Hey, I had a lot on my mind. I was worried about Links and I still am," she said, frowning.

Her husband draped an arm around her. She was glad for the warm touch, a little more body heat was nice against the cold. "What are you worried about? He'll be fine with Romeo. As long as he stays off the roof."

Bisca chuckled and put an arm around his waist to pull him closer. "Knowing that little guy, he's going to somehow find a way up there. Ugh, can't imagine the sort of trouble we'll be in if he does manage that. But that's not what I'm really worried about."

"Does it have something to do with why he can't enter this _glorious_ temple of Light?"

Bisca nodded, further creasing her brow. "Why do you think he can't? There's nothing evil about him. He's certainly not a demon, otherwise Erza would have known." Eyes on the back of the priest, she dropped her voice to a whisper, "What 'dark creature' does this old man think he is?"

"I don't know. Maybe their Light God hates sky wolves?" When he saw his wife's unimpressed look, he shrugged and uttered, "What?"

"So you actually believe this God exists?"

He snorted. "Nah. I was just being sarcastic. Couldn't you tell? Anyway, maybe it has something to do with where Links came from? You don't meet wolves or people from the sky every day so maybe they could have some… I don't know? An unnatural… aura or something?"

Bisca was half-way through rolling her eyes before Alzack's comment started to make her think. She knew Links was special since the very beginning. From the strange markings on his fur to the intelligence behind his gorgeous blue eyes – Links was no ordinary wolf. Perhaps being from some mysterious sky island was the main reason he couldn't pass through the holy barrier.

_No, that can't be right,_ she argued with her brain. It didn't make sense. A holy barrier was meant to keep dark powers at bay and Links didn't have a shred of evil in him. He got along well with all of Bisca's animals and he was incredibly patient with Asuka; he was the _perfect_ pet. He wasn't a ferocious beast either, still only a pup. And not once did Bisca sense anything odd about him. So _why_ was he considered a being of Dark? It didn't add up.

As she tried to come up with a logical theory, Alzack gently shook her. "Looks like we're finally there," he mumbled, slipping his arm away from her shoulder and into her hand. He led her into a large chamber that had a low domed ceiling. Two rows of six identical pillars lined the central walkway, each decorated with red markings depicting a stylized sun with swirling rays. Between the pillars were stone statues of giant sparrows, each standing proud atop their own podium. There were twelve in all and they were all identical with sun crests on their bellies and pendants made of clear crystal around their necks. However, there was one, the farthest to Bisca's right, which wore a pendant that glowed as bright as a Light Lacrima.

Bisca raised her brow, having expected statues of falcons instead of sparrows. And she was pretty curious about that light pendant.

As if reading her thoughts, Erza asked the priest why only one of the birds had a glowing crystal.

"There is an old legend that these twelve sparrows were the Messengers of Light," answered Priest Jarron. He stood before the stone sparrow with the shining stone, the top of his bald head equal in height to the podium. "For as long as I can remember, it has always been this one that shone while the others remained cold. As the story goes, there had been a Great War in the past where the Light God battled against an army of demons. In the end, the Light God was triumphant over evil. However, all but this one sparrow had perished; their light devoured by the demons. To this day, it is believed the surviving Messenger continues to send our prayers to its Lord when we pray in the altar. Speaking of which; Rhyson." He turned and gestured for his grandson.

The young man nodded and went to retrieve a small wooden chest tucked away in a corner. Priest Jarron had led Bisca's team to the large set of stone doors waiting at the end of the walkway by the time Rhyson had returned.

"Beyond here is the sacred altar," the old man began as he shifted his tinted goggles over his eyes. He looked absolutely ridiculous with them on because his bushy eyebrows were peeking out from the top like a dead animal. Bisca had to cover her mouth with a hand to suppress her giggles.

"Please, put these goggles on," the priest continued while Rhyson handed pairs of protective wear to each member of Fairy Tail.

Bisca mentally grumbled, not liking how ridiculous _she_ was going to look with them on. But when Alzack snapped his pair on and wiggled his eyebrows teasingly at her with a goofy grin, she no longer hesitated to wear them. The couple laughed at each other's funny appearances and they laughed even louder when they saw Erza sporting her own goofy goggles before they were interrupted by the old man loudly clearing his throat.

"The Light God's blessing is too much for normal eyes to gaze upon. Without these, you would go blind within a day. Now, is everyone ready? Good." The priest tapped the end of his holy staff against the doors that bore the same carving of the halo falcon. White light flashed followed by the distinct rumbling as the two halves slid sideways.

Bisca was immediately overwhelmed by a blinding glare coming from the other side of the door. Even with her tinted goggles, she had to shield her eyes before they could adjust to the sudden brightness. "Wow…" she breathed in awe the instant she saw the wide, open valley before her.

There was Light Lacrima _everywhere_. All natural and unrefined. The enormous deposit of beautiful crystals stretched halfway up the mountains and covered the entire valley floor. It was incredibly bright; brighter than the sunlight. The cool, refreshing mountain air was charged with copious amounts of magical energy and free of the smell of incense.

Bisca felt invigorated, her body seemingly absorbing the magic emitting from the valley of Lacrima. The platform she was walking on was as large as the plateau back at the entrance of the temple. At the very edge overlooking the valley was a giant statue of the Light God magnificently carved out of Light Lacrima. Facing the temple, its large crystal wings were spread open in flight and its beak was raised towards the clear sky.

Marring the beauty of the place was the huge, shattered crater in front of the statue. The hole was deep and piles of broken rocks were littered everywhere. There was a large group of people, ranging from children as young as ten to the elderly, all dressed in white and wearing goggles, working around the damaged site, busy cleaning up the mess.

That crater was likely where the altar used to be and it looked as if someone had blasted it with a bomb.

"Tell everyone to stop what they're doing," Erza suddenly demanded the old man as she made her way towards the damage.

"What? Now, why would I do that?" the priest exclaimed, chasing after her on shorter legs. "This place needs to be cleared before we can fix the altar!"

"Your people are taking away all the clues that may lead to your culprit," the warrioress replied. Without waiting for the old man to respond, she raised her voice and commanded; "Everyone! Stop and clear out right now!"

The people paused in their work, their attention turned towards the scarlet-haired woman. None of them moved as commanded; they only stared at Team Fairy Tail with confused expressions. An older woman was first to stomp towards them.

"Jarron! What is the meaning of this?" the woman demanded in a stern tone, her brow wrinkled in displeasure. She had thin, pale lips, a sharp nose, and graying blue hair tied in a tight bun atop her head. She was tall thanks to the pointy heels she wore, giving her a few extra inches over Erza's height. She wielded a taller staff made from silver metal that, surprisingly, did not have the head of a holy falcon but the curved talons of a bird. Within the metal claws was an orb of pure white light. Going by the gold-trimmed mantle she wore and the fancier robe underneath, there was no doubt she was an important figure in the temple.

The old man tensed and quickly bowed his head. "O-Oh! H-High Priestess!" he stuttered, "Please forgive our intrusion!" He waved his staff at Erza and glowered, "This woman is–"

"You're the one in charge?" Erza interrupted, moving to stand before the taller woman, ignoring the glares coming from the elderly pair.

_So bold_ , thought Bisca, nodding at her teammate with great admiration. Never had she gone a mission with Erza before so it was a thrill to witness Titania at work. Alzack, on the other hand, was watching the confrontation between the women with apprehension. Priest Jarron and Rhyson also seemed rather nervous.

"So you must be the mages Jarron hired," stated the High Priestess, ignoring Erza's question. The woman straightened and looked down her nose at the younger mage through tinted lenses, her thin lips in a taut line.

Erza crossed her arms, undaunted by the other. "That's right. We are Fairy Tail and we're here to investigate the case of your missing sword. We can't do that if you erase all possible clues around the area. I suggest you stop what you're all doing immediately and allow us to look around and ask questions."

"Clues?" the priestess snorted and sharply gestured at the crater behind her. "There is your only clue. We have searched this area since the Divine Blade From Heaven was stolen and found nothing other than this atrocious hole where our sacred altar used to be."

"It's possible you may have missed something," Erza pressed, not willing to back down.

The older woman's brow furrowed even further. If Bisca could see her eyes, they would be two angry slits directed at Erza.

The sharpshooter hid her smile, silently grateful the fearless Titania was with her on this mission. If Bisca had been the one dealing with the strict High Priestess, she would have probably broken into an argument already. Didn't these people know that messing with the crime scene was not going to help solve the mystery?

If Links was here, he could have detected something that no one else could see. But there were a lot of people around; too many scents to distinguish one from the other. Especially when the people were touching and moving everything. And not to mention it was blinding to be here.

A tense silence settled between Erza and the High Priestess as they gazed upon one another, neither willing to yield. No one dared to interfere.

It felt like one long moment until the High Priestess was first to shatter the silence. Her thin lips twitched into a snarl. "Jarron," she called, never leaving her gaze from the scarlet-haired mage.

The old man flinched and quickly ran up to the taller woman's side. "Y-Yes, High Priestess?"

"Keep an eye on Fairy Tail while they 'investigate' this matter. Everyone, drop everything and return to the temple."

There was murmuring and whispers as the followers of Light began to shuffle away from the crater. They gave Fairy Tail numerous glances as they passed them, most of them curious while a few were annoyed.

To Erza, the High Priestess added in a firm, authoritative tone, "You have until tomorrow morning before we continue restoring our altar. Is that clear?"

"Understood," the warrioress replied, keeping a straight face at her little victory. She turned to her teammates and received a nod from both. "Thank you. We will be careful not to further damage your sacred altar. We will find out who did this, you have our word."

The High Priestess gave a curt nod and proceeded to walk away towards the people gathered around the sealed doors of the temple.

Erza dusted her hands and smirked at her teammates. Alzack gave a 'thumbs up' and Bisca grinned. "We have the floor. Let's start searching," said Erza, making her way to the edge of the crater.

Bisca didn't follow. Instead, she started to backtrack towards the group of followers. "You guys go ahead. I'll interrogate some of the people and see if I can learn anything new."

Alzack was most disappointed and it briefly showed on his face. "Alright. Just… be careful, okay?" he said as he discreetly pointed at the back of the High Priestess who had just opened the stone doors with her staff.

She smiled and waved at her husband. "I will." She wasn't really looking forward to having to endure the High Priestess and her stern attitude, but work was work. And dealing with troublesome clients was one of the main joys of guild missions.

Counting to ten to steady her nerves, she followed the line of people back into the Temple of the Light God.

* * *

Ever since the holy stone doors had banged shut, Link had been restless. If he wasn't brooding, he was pacing. If he wasn't pacing, he was brooding.

He had wandered around the temple entrance multiple times in search of any clues he could dig up that could help identify the thieves. He even tried looking for another way in; a hidden tunnel, climbable ledges, _something_ to get him past the annoying barrier. Sadly, there was nothing to be found. There wasn't even a distinguishable scent besides the smell of incense; everywhere he went smelled of incense, making him wonder if the priests bathed in the smoke day and night.

It wasn't long until he gave up his hopeless search. With nothing left to do but wait, Link had reluctantly abided to the old priest's command and stayed away from the temple doors.

Since then, he had been pacing along the plateau, circling the holy falcon and its radiant sun carved into the dark gray stone. How long had it been since Bisca and her team disappeared behind the temple doors? Half an hour? One?

Link didn't keep track of time, his mind occupied with the sudden turn of events. Not being able to enter the sacred temple to help find his _own_ blade angered him to no end. Nothing seemed to be working in his favour, making him highly suspect the Gods were acting against him just to make his life more miserable than it already was.

Whenever a grim thought of how his situation could get any worse intruded his mind, he would growl, which didn't go unnoticed. Romeo nervously stayed a good distance away close to the temple entrance, keeping a silent eye on the wolf. The boy had tried to cheer Link up, but words of assurance could only do so much to sway the hero's foul mood.

Blue eyes were fierce as they glowered at the bird carved into the stone by his restless feet. He was like a hungry beast circling his prey, except his prey was a mere image of a falcon. "Light God," he scoffed under his breath, "I have done no wrong and yet you Gods mock me. _Why?_ I have a duty to fulfill. A friend to save. Realms to _protect!_ Was I not chosen to be your hero? Am I no longer worthy?"

He expected no answer and he got nothing. Only the gentle tinkling of the hanging bells and the steady clicking of his claws. Ten more circles and Link finally stopped at the bottom of the falcon's feet. He wearily closed his eyes and laid down with a heavy sigh, his head resting on his front paws. Bisca's golden bracelet was cool beneath his chin, but it was a comforting coolness. Remembering the bracelet reminded him of the woman's promise and her bright violet eyes that had burned with determination before she stepped into the temple for his sake.

Link's anger gradually subsided as his thoughts turned to Bisca and her kindness. "I wish I can thank you…" he murmured.

"Oh? But I haven't done a thing!" someone replied in a shrill, amused tone.

Startled, Link nearly jumped out of his skin. His eyes snapped open in surprise only to find a small, yellow and white, female sparrow standing right before his nose. He lifted his head and stared down at the curious avian, perturbed by her sudden appearance; he did not hear nor smell her arrival. It was as if the little creature had appeared out of thin air.

Link was quick to notice she was no ordinary bird when he caught the sparrow's faint and fleeting scent. Sweet like honey with a hint of spice. Unlike the surrounding mountain, forest, or lake. Link had only come across a handful of beings that possessed such a peculiar smell. And most of them were giants. This one was so very small and lacked the radiant, ethereal glow he was used to seeing.

On her pale belly was a crimson sun with its swirling rays tracing around her body to mark her plumage with a colourful red. Around her neck hung a pebble-sized crystal that shone like the pendants the priests of the temple wore.

"Are you… a spirit?" he asked tentatively.

Unafraid, the sparrow hopped onto the wolf's left paw and blinked her beady black eyes at Link, tilting her head curiously from side to side. "Pipo-pipo-peeta-po!" the bird sang.

The wolf furrowed his brow in confusion. "I beg your pardon?"

"It is a greeting of friends, friend! You see me. You hear me. You can _touch_ me! We must now be friends! Do you want to play?"

Link glanced over at Romeo who was leaning against one of the columns and watching the wolf with a bored expression. It didn't seem like the boy could see or sense the sparrow.

"If you play with me, I will take you to Mom!" the spirit pleaded like a child when Link didn't answer right away. "Play! Play! Play! Play! Play!" With each chant of 'Play!', the bird hopped between the larger one's front paws. Barely could Link feel her feather-light feet landing on his toes.

"Your mom?" the wolf questioned, leaning in close. "Is she another spirit?"

"Yes, she is!" said the bird rather eagerly now that she knew Link was interested. She turned around to face the falcon carved before them in the ground, her fanned tail lightly brushing against the wolf's fur. "She is! She is! A great spirit! The greatest! You have come to see her, yes? I know you do! I've been watching!"

Link briefly looked away to hide his guilt. The little bird had mistaken his angry brooding for something else entirely. Nevertheless, he was suddenly anxious to learn that the Light God was actually a _Light Spirit_ , the guardian of this region. He would be smiling like a fool if he could. He bowed his head respectfully at the deity's image and silently begged for forgiveness for his earlier behaviour. He should have known this new land was protected by the great spirits of Light, much like in Hyrule.

The Light Spirit can help him change back. The other spirits had done so before when they vanquished the curse of Twilight from the land, so this one can too.

As Link moved to stand, the sparrow flitted back onto the ground and gazed up expectedly, her beady eyes so full of hope. "You are right," he said, "I do want to meet your mother."

"Joy! Joy!" chirped the sparrow, hopping in the air to fly in a quick, happy circle. She landed on top of Link's furry head and exclaimed, "Then let's play!"

Link looked up. He couldn't see his new companion but he could feel her light feet bouncing between his ears. He suppressed a sigh and the urge to shake his head. This spirit was too much of a child, not that it annoyed him. "Very well. What do you want to do?"

"Jump!"

He cocked his head, again trying to give the bird a questioning look. "Jump?"

"Yes! Jump! As high as you can!"

_You want a ride?_

The wolf mentally smirked. He crouched low, coiling the muscles in his back legs. "Then hold on tight!" he warned. He felt the bird clutch to his fur before he launched straight up, leaping thrice his height before landing gracefully on all fours.

The sparrow was laughing with childish glee. "Again!"

Link rolled his eyes and leapt again, bringing another peal of joyous laughter from his tiny rider.

"Again!"

"Only once more, okay?"

When he landed, he heard Romeo ask, "Links? You okay?"

The boy warily approached the wolf and giggling spirit that was invisible to his eyes. With a raised brow, Romeo was clearly wondering what Link was doing jumping in the middle of the plateau like an idiot.

Link glanced off to the side, silently thankful he wasn't a man at the moment for the young mage to see his embarrassment. He gave the boy a curt nod all the while trying to ignore the tiny spirit's chittering. It suddenly became difficult to keep a straight face and pretend the sparrow wasn't shrieking in his ear when she started to nip his ears as well.

Romeo was even more skeptical as Link kept flinching from every bite of the spirit's evil little beak.

The wolf tossed his head back and lightly shook his head as he growled, "Please stop that!"

"Something bothering you, boy?" Romeo asked, looking at the wolf closely.

Link didn't get to respond (or snap irritably for being called 'boy') because the laughing sparrow landed right back on his head. "That was fun!" she chirped, peering down to meet the wolf's fuming gaze. "Friend, since you're so kind, I'll take you to Mom!"

Link perked up and instantly dismissed the idea to violently shaking his head to toss his passenger off. "You will?"

"Yes!" The spirit took to the air and flew in circles above the wolf and mage as she sang, "Pipo-pipo-peeta-po! Come, friend! Follow me! Your human can come too!"

"The boy is not my hu–" Before Link could even finish his sentence, the sparrow shot across the plateau towards the mountain wall like a fired arrow. She was nothing but a shimmering speck by the time Link turned in her direction.

The wolf sighed and briefly met Romeo's confused stare before he dashed right after the twittering spirit.

"Hey! Where are you going, Links?" the boy cried in surprise, chasing after him.

Link slowed to a stop before the steep mountainside where the sparrow was waiting, clinging to the rough stone with ease. When he saw the faint, worn symbol of a sun carved into the gray rock under the sparrow, Link noticed many other ancient markings on the wall. Little suns with swirling rays, much like the crest on the sparrow's belly, formed a larger circle where in the centre bore the familiar holy falcon.

"This is a secret door – the _Pipa-paya_ door. It has never been opened for over a thousand years," the bird began to explain, tilting her head down at Link, "In order to open it, you must touch all the _Pipapo_ in a specific order and there is one you must touch three times, and two you must touch twice in succession."

"The pi-pa-po?"

"The Light Suns!"

The wolf balked at the complexity of the switch. He had dealt with ancient, magical mechanisms that were, more often than not, a pain to solve during his adventures in the many temples and dungeons of Hyrule. Even though he had yet to try it, he knew this one topped them all.

"Am I to solve this riddle on my own?" he questioned with dread as he sat on his haunches, all ready to give up. There were too many combinations to try. Thinking about it made his head hurt. It would take him _days_ to figure it out.

"Oh, this looks neat," said Romeo the instant he caught up to Link. Oblivious to the trial lying before them, the boy smiled at the wolf before examining the carving up close.

The spirit giggled and ruffled her wings at Link's previous question. "Of course not, kind friend!" she answered, bringing a big sigh of relief from the beast. "Since you can jump very high, you won't have a problem touching all twelve _Pipapo_. Now let's play together!" She flew to the highest sun crest – a 'Pipapo', she called it – positioned at 12 o'clock. She wiggled her tail feathers in an almost taunting manner and chanted in a chipper tune; "This one! This one! This one!"

Understanding what to do, Link drew close and had to politely push Romeo out of the way with his nose. The boy was confused yet again, but didn't argue as he stepped aside, all the while scratching the back of his head.

Link crouched down and eyed the sparrow's taunting tail. "Here I come, spirit!" He sprang to the highest sun, prompting the little bird to fly to the next crest, and smacked his right paw dead in the centre.

"Man, you're weird," Romeo uttered mostly to himself as he watched the wolf leap and scratch at the twelve small suns of the mountain in a seemingly random pattern. Again, Link probably looked like an idiot when the boy couldn't see the giddy sparrow.

The pattern was long and confusing that Link couldn't even remember the first three steps. It was no wonder the door had been sealed for so long. By the time he touched the last sun at 4 o'clock, he wanted to drop to the ground in exhaustion. However, the instant his paw left the sun, all the lines carved into the mountain flashed with golden light, giving both him and Romeo a start.

"Whoa! What's going on?!" the young mage exclaimed, glancing between the light and Link.

The eye of the holy falcon shone a second longer than the rest before the light faded. Soon to follow was the rumbling of stone as a vertical line appeared down the middle of the falcon and her glorious sun. The two halves of the circular door slid apart, disappearing into the mountain side to reveal a pitch-black tunnel.

"You did it, friend!" cheered the spirit as she landed on top of Link's head and did a few happy hops. "Venture to the end to meet Mom!"

Romeo peered inside before looking at Link in shock. "Wait a minute… did you know this was here?" he asked, becoming suspicious.

The wolf lightly shook his head, being mindful of his rider. It was a half-truth.

The boy made wild gestures at the tunnel. "But then… How…? I don't get it… Was it your nose?"

"It was me!" the sparrow chirped, but of course, Romeo couldn't hear her.

Acting smug, Link grunted and cocked his head at the mage, motioning for him to follow, before the wolf clambered into the hole that was wide enough for the boy to fully stand. Anyone taller would have had to crouch.

Inside, the air was cool and stale and the ground was covered in a thick layer of dust; solid proof that no one had ventured through the stone for over a millennia.

The adventurous side of Link was eager to explore. Besides a great Light Spirit, could there be lost treasures as well beyond the shadows? His weariness gone, Link started to walk ahead.

The instant Romeo entered the tunnel, the stone doors suddenly slammed shut behind them, casting them in darkness. Thankfully, the spirit's small glowing crystal hanging around her neck was bright enough to light up the path a few feet around them. However, what Link saw was not the same as what Romeo saw.

The young mage twisted around in panic and banged uselessly against the stone doors that no longer appeared as two halves but a solid wall. "Oh no!" the boy shrieked, "We're trapped!"

"Your human is wrong. We're not trapped!" the sparrow assured cheerily. "The door won't open from this side, but there are two more ways out."

"He cannot see you," Link reminded the spirit as he quickly approached the boy. The wolf let out a short bark and nudged Romeo's side with his nose in hope of calming the mage down.

Romeo gasped and flinched away before quickly realizing it was only Link. He slowly reached down and awkwardly patted the top of the wolf's snout with shaky hands. "Oh good, it's just you," he whispered in relief between his rapid breaths. "Okay, okay… No need to hyperventilate. Calm down. Calm down. Just calm down." The boy closed his eyes, took a deep breath, held it, and slowly exhaled, his shoulders sagging. When he opened his eyes, he was more relaxed. He held up a hand and magically produced a small, orange flame in his open palm.

_A fire mage_ , Link mused, staring in fascination at the conjured fire that shone brighter than the sparrow's crystal. The light was pleasantly warm, feeling as comfortable as a burning hearth on a cold day.

"Oh! That's pretty!" said the spirit, fluttering to the flame for a closer look. Link noticed the fire flickering from the rapid beat of her wings before she found her spot again on the wolf's head.

Romeo scanned his surroundings. There wasn't much to see besides the craggy walls and ceiling and the extremely dusty ground. When he met the wolf's blue eyes, he formed a brave smile – one that made Link fondly remember young Colin.

"Thanks, boy–" Link grumbled but his annoyance went unnoticed– "Let's see where this tunnel goes, huh? Maybe there's another exit…"

Link nodded and led the way, strolling at a reasonable pace for the mage to walk alongside him. The path was relatively straight in the beginning before it started to bend and twist. The farther they went, the wider the tunnel became until it was more of a cavern that carried the echo of Romeo's footsteps. They encountered a few areas where they had to climb up a few ledges to reach. The climb wasn't too difficult for Link; he could jump to every ledge, much to the sparrow's delight. Romeo, however, had to extinguish his flame and climb blindly in the dark. At those moments, Link stayed close and helped drag the boy up by pulling on the boy's clothes with his teeth.

They stopped to rest when they reached a fork. To their left was an ascending passageway; to their right was a descending path.

"Left is the one you should choose," said the sparrow as she playfully hopped between Link's front paws. "Up! Up! To the mountaintop! Mom is waiting there!"

"How much farther?" Link asked, his voice rough from thirst.

"Not too long now, friend! Three more jumps and you'll see the _Pipapo_ again!"

Link nodded as he watched Romeo with envy as the boy took a drink from a water bottle he had magically summoned out of thin air. When the boy heard his grunted words and noticed his staring, the mage realized he wanted a drink too. Romeo snuffed out his fire to pour some water into a cupped hand. Link didn't hesitate to lap up the refreshing liquid before most of it spilled to the ground. The boy offered a few more handfuls, enough to quench the wolf's parched throat.

They continued on with Link leading them down the left path.

"You're sure, Links?" Romeo questioned, giving the beast a skeptical look.

Link nodded.

"It's weird how you know all this stuff."

The wolf bared his teeth in a grin. _If only I could tell you the truth._ Perhaps soon he would be able to if the great Light Spirit could fulfill his wish.

The trail quickly became steeper the deeper they went. 'Three more jumps' was not just three more jumps but a near-vertical climb up three sets of cliff walls, one almost right after the other. There were ledges and handholds that made the ordeal a little easier for both wolf and human. Twice, Romeo nearly lost his grip due to the rock crumbling under his weight, but thankfully Link had a firm hold of him both times. Otherwise the fall would have broken the boy's leg or worse.

Link regretted allowing the boy to come with him. If he had known how dangerous the journey was through the mountain, he would have forced the young mage to stay behind.

By the time they reached the top of the third cliff, both Link and Romeo collapsed in exhaustion and relief while the sparrow happily announced they were almost there. Link whimpered in sympathy when the boy hissed in pain at the bloody scrapes on his hands and knees from the rough climb.

"Don't worry," said Romeo, clenching his injured hands and grinning wide. His dark eyes shone with pride in the light of his flame. "This is nothing. 'Getting hurt is part of the adventure', as my big brother always says. 'Sometimes the reward is worth the risk.' I'm excited to see what we're going to find at the end of this cave. Aren't you?" He stood up and dusted off his shorts, accidently wiping blood on his clothes.

Link nodded and stood with him. They continued on. It wasn't long until they found what appeared to be a dead end at first, but as they got closer, Link saw the wall marked with the same twelve suns and holy falcon in the centre. It was another sealed door.

"Think you can open this one too?" Romeo asked with a smirk as he held his flame high to better light the carvings.

The sparrow chirped with glee; "We're here, friend! This is the _Pipa-papi_ door – the Sunset door. _Pipa-paya_ is the Sunrise door. The pattern here is the opposite of _Pipa-paya_. Shouldn't be too hard to figure out, right?"

Link looked up towards his feathered companion, seeing her staring back from her perch atop his head. He grunted and lightly shook his head. "I… do not remember the pattern," he hated to admit. "We will have to play the game again."

The sparrow wasn't too displeased; in fact, she was thrilled to play once more. She flew to the first sun at 4 o'clock and sang while wiggling her tail; "This one! This one! This one!"

Once again, the wolf and spirit played their game of touch-the- _pipapo_ -in-the-right-order-to-open-the-ancient-door. It went slower than last time since Link was tired from the climb.

Just like before, the instant Link touched the final sun at 12 o'clock, every line lit up with gold. The whole mountain seemed to tremble as the two halves of the circular door slid open to reveal fresh, cooler air and blinding sunlight.

"Nice! You did it," praised Romeo, giving the wolf an encouraging pat on the back before rushing out to greet the daylight.

The sparrow was even more enthusiastic. "Pipo-pipo-peeta-po!" she sang and took off. "Come, friend! Bring your human and we'll meet Mom!" She disappeared before Link could step out of the tunnel.

The doors slammed shut behind him, turning back into a solid wall that blended well with the mountain. There were no markings, indicating it couldn't be opened on this side.

Link gave that little thought as he glanced around his new surroundings, captivated by the incredible view. They ended up near the top of one of the mountains; which one, Link couldn't tell from where he stood. He cautiously approached the edge where Romeo was standing to join the boy in gazing over the beautiful land below. A cool, gentle wind was blowing, playing with the boy's hair and yellow scarf.

"Look how far you can see!" exclaimed the mage, pointing in the distance with one hand and shielding his eyes from the sun with the other. "Look! There's the road we travelled on to get here! And over there, the lake!"

He grinned at Link, full of childish wonder. "Bisca and everyone would love to see this. I can't wait to tell them what we discovered!"

Yes, the sight was magnificent, but Link did not come here for the view. He quietly turned away and started to search for the sparrow, hearing Romeo follow right behind.

There were wide, rocky steps leading up and around the mountain peak. At the end of the steps, they came upon a flat plateau that bore the ever-familiar falcon and her sun carved into the stone on the ground. Unlike the plateau before the Temple of the Light God, this one had old, crumbled stone pillars erected at each of the twelve positions of the suns. There was only one of the tall pillars left standing intact and it bore the crimson sun crest upon its smooth, pale gray surface.

Perched atop the rounded pillar was the sparrow. She sang her song of greeting yet again and hopped around to turn her back towards him. "Mom!" she spoke to someone Link couldn't quite see over the piles of rock, "They're here! My friend and his human I told you about. He wants to meet you!"

"Your kind friend, Pipo?" spoke another, someone with a soft, feminine voice.

A golden falcon landed beside her tiny daughter on the standing pillar and peered down at the wolf with sharp eyes. The falcon was the great Light Spirit and she was much, much smaller than what Link had expected; however, she possessed the same radiance as the other Light Spirits. Her feathers shone bright as if blessed by the sun and they were marked with crimson symbols, the lines bolder and more detailed than the sparrow's.

The Light Spirit was beautiful with long silken feathers atop her head flowing down her back and curling around her neck like snow-white hair. Her tail was long and silken as well, the flowing ends draping over the edge of the pillar.

Her eyes flickered from Link to Romeo who was just making his way over to the wolf. Her fierce gaze settled back on Link and narrowed. "This beast is your friend, Pipo?" the Light Spirit questioned the sparrow.

Pipo nodded vigorously. Before she could say anything, Link spoke first; "Great Light Spirit," he bowed humbly. This would be the first time meeting a Light Spirit he didn't need to save, so he wasn't sure how to ask a favour. "I am honored by your presence. My name is Link. I have come here with a small request."

"Links, did you find something?" Romeo interrupted, seeing the wolf in an odd position with his front paws stretched out before him, his head bowed low and his tail sticking up.

Link ignored the boy, keeping his eyes on his paws.

"Oh? How peculiar," the falcon mused, a hint of a smile in her tone. She swooped down and softly landed on the pile of rocks closest to Link.

The wolf noticed the boy flinching in the periphery of his vision the moment the great spirit touched down. "There's something here… isn't there?" Romeo whispered, looking around warily. He was able to sense the spirit but not see it.

Link nodded.

"And you're _communicating_ with it… aren't you?"

Link nodded again and prayed the boy would stay quiet. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.

"It's not an _evil_ ghost, is it?"

Growling, Link shook his head and shot the mage an impatient glare, which effectively worked in getting the boy to stop asking questions. Hands held up defensively, Romeo slowly backed away from the angry wolf. "Oooo-kay… I'll just go do a little exploring on my own and try not to anger any other ghosts, if that's alright?"

Watching the boy leave, the Light Spirit quietly laughed, the sound like ringing chimes. "Your human knows I am here, but cannot see nor hear me," she stated in amusement. "It is very rare for one to see me; rarer still for one to understand me. It has been so long since I have spoken to another who is not a spirit. You are no ordinary beast, are you?"

Link kept his head low. "What you assume is true; I am a man turned into a beast by a curse known as Twilight. I have come before you to ask you to lift this curse."

"Wait, you're actually a man? That's amazing!" the little sparrow quietly chirped in awe.

There was a moment of silence as the mother processed what Link had just told her. "Lift your curse?" she finally spoke up, sounding quite shocked. "How am I supposed to do that? I have never heard of this curse of Twilight…"

It was Link's turn to be shocked. He stood up and gave the falcon a pleading look that bordered on desperate. "I do not understand. Are you not the great Light Spirit of this land? You are the 'Light God' to the people in the temple, am I wrong?"

The falcon made a sound that resembled a sigh and shook her head. "I am a spirit, a _Celestial Spirit,_ and that is all I am. I am not as great as you believe me to be. I have no power to lift curses. Nor am I a God. That belief had arisen many centuries ago with the passing of time altering history."

Link furrowed his brow. He still didn't quite understand. "You are a Light Spirit," he pressed on, "You are the protector of this land, correct?"

There was a sad twinkle in her eye. "You are mistaking me for something far greater. The temple below and the carvings you have seen, they were created by my dear old friend and late master over a thousand years ago. The temple was never intended to be a holy sanctum where people could worship me as a God; just a home for my master and his spirits."

Link had to sit down, his disappointment weighing heavily on his soul. It felt like someone was squeezing his heart with an iron fist, crushing every shred of hope he had prior to coming here. "I…" he managed to croak, unable to find his voice. He wasn't sure what he wanted to say other than to call himself a stupid, naïve fool for believing fate was going to be kind to him.

He felt something light land on his downcast head before hearing Pipo softly croon, "Don't cry, friend, don't cry! Mom, you must cheer him up!"

The falcon dropped lower on the rock pile to stand right before the wolf. Her body brightened the surrounding area with a golden hue, but did little to brighten the other's mood. "Link, I am sorry I cannot help you the way you thought possible. I can see you have a pure heart; Pipo has taken a strong liking to you. It has been too long since my daughter has found another to play with. I thank you for being her friend. In return, I will to be your Celestial Spirit."

"Celestial Spirit?" Link echoed in confusion, raising his head to meet her gaze.

The falcon tilted her head slightly and blinked. "You have never heard? Celestial Spirits are magical beings from the Celestial Spirit World. We were originally from there, but for over a thousand years, neither of us had ever returned since our last summoning to this world. After the death of my master, we chose to stay in Earthland to watch over his final resting place in the Sleeping Valley."

"You know the other path in the tunnel?" the sparrow asked, looking down at Link. "That way leads to the Sleeping Valley."

"Normally, when we no longer have a master to sustain us in this world," the falcon continued, "we would be forced to return to the spirit world. However, my master chose to build the temple here for a good reason. Come, I will show you."

The falcon took to the air and Link quickly followed her, jumping over the ancient stones and towards the very edge of the plateau. Far below them, Link recognized the Temple of the Light God and was surprised to see how large the actual structure was, seeing the backside of the building on the other side of the mountain. Behind the temple was a giant valley rich in bright glowing crystals. It was stunningly beautiful, as if the Gods had placed all their heavenly jewels in one place on earth.

"Are those…?"

The falcon nodded, her expression becoming forlorn. "Yes, all of that is Light Lacrima. Long ago, they were only Lacrima when my master first discovered this area. While I was still bound to him, I infused my magic power into every crystal that you see below us, turning them into Light Lacrima."

Link gaped at the falcon in amazement. It was no wonder the temple followers saw her as a God-like being; she had given them the gift of light.

"The magic trapped in the Lacrima – _my_ magic – has allowed us to stay here in Earthland for all these years." She faced the wolf. Standing, she was only as tall as Link's chest and had to look up to meet his eyes. "Link, I think it is time we have a new master. You share my old master's kindness and best of all, you also have the ability to see and speak to me and Pipo. You remind me of him except you are more hairy while he was scaly. And he was much bigger and more intimidating in appearance."

_Scaly?_ Link raised his brow, wondering what sort of person or creature her old master used to be.

"Now, will you accept me to be your Celestial Spirit? I can be your guide in the darkness, a chaser of shadows, or I can be a companion in your time of need."

Link felt honored once again, this time to have a gained another friend to help him. However, there was one little problem. "You are a magical being, but I am not. How can I summon you?"

The falcon stepped closer. "How do you not have magic? I can sense power within you. Is that not what you call magic?"

Was she talking about the power of the Triforce? Or was it the curse of Twilight she was sensing?

"I…"

"You have the power to see us, let alone communicate with us. I do not doubt you can summon me," she cut him off, her eyes glinting with a knowing smile. "You came here seeking my help and now it is yours."

"Very well, then I gladly accept," said Link, giving the bird a thankful bow of his head. He suddenly remembered something important and it must have shown on his face because the falcon gave a slight tilt of her head and asked;

"Is something wrong?"

"You must have seen it then," Link began, growing eager. He pointed his nose towards the cloudless, blue space above them. "The sword that fell from the sky."

"Oh! I saw that!" said Pipo, landing on the tip of Link's nose and looking straight down at him. "It was scary! The sky suddenly turned dark and funny. And there was thunder and lightning! And KRA- _BAM!_ KA- _CHING! KRUNK!_ _A_ shiny sword fell right in the middle of the altar! Frightened everyone in the temple!"

"That was my Master Sword!" the wolf explained, standing abruptly.

" _Your_ sword? That's amazing!" exclaimed Pipo, an expert at keeping her balance on Link's nose.

The falcon looked very surprised. "That heaven sword is yours?"

"Yes. I fell from the very same sky on the same day. But I landed in the forest," Link nodded towards the woods around Lake Hemlock. "Since that day, I have been searching for my sword. Now that I know it was here, do you know what happened to it?" Link asked, trying not to sound too demanding. "It was stolen from the temple. I must get it back to transform back into a man."

"You came from the sky… another world…" The falcon studied him closely, bewildered and fascinated at the same time. "My… This must mean… If that blade is yours… then your coming here is no mere coincidence. When I saw your sword descend from the warped sky, I knew things were about to change. It seems we are destined to help you, and help you we shall. The one who took your blade was a powerful _demon_."

Link bared his teeth and snarled, making Pipo fly away to join her mother. "A _demon!_ Did you see what it looked like? Where it had gone?"

The falcon shook her head. "It happened late last night when the shadows were strongest and my sight poor. When it happened, it happened quickly. I did not see it, but I had felt its evil presence before it vanished within the temple, taking your sword with it."

"' _Within_ ', you say? How can that be? I thought no evil creatures could ever enter your holy sanctum?"

The falcon harrumphed. "The temple was never 'holy' to begin with. The first humans who believed in a Light God erected the magic barrier themselves. It is the humans who control what may enter and what cannot whenever they want."

Now that was highly suspicious. Link furrowed his brow in thought. _'If no one on the outside has seen this sword, then it's possible that someone on the inside has taken it for their own means,'_ he remembered Erza saying.

Priest Jarron had angrily denied that possibility to be true. He also had control of the stone doors to the temple. If what the spirit said was true, then the priest would have been able to dispel the barrier and allow Link through, but the man chose not to do it. He may have been wary of Link and that was a reasonable excuse given the holy barrier reacted to _Zant's_ curse.

The temple was huge; Priest Jarron couldn't be the only one who could manipulate the barriers and stone doors.

"It seems the thief is among them," Link growled, turning his attention to the temple lying below.

"One who is affiliated with a powerful demon," the falcon added grimly. "I am sorry, Link. I was unable to track where the demon had gone after the deed was done."

The wolf shook his head and gave the golden spirit a meaningful nod. "No, do not apologize. There was nothing you could have done. Now I know what has become of my Master Sword and I can begin searching in the right place."

The falcon flapped her magnificent wings and hovered before Link. Pipo joined her, flying in circles around her mother. "As your Celestial Spirit, you can call upon my aid whenever you like," said the falcon, her body beginning to glow as bright as the sun itself. Before it became too blinding, she burst into many particles of golden light and in her place was a thin, black, leather necklace with a silver-white key. The bow of the key was a twelve-pointed sun with a round, glinting, topaz jewel embedded in the center. A pair of pearl-white beads with small, golden feathers clasped to each one was tied to either side of the key to keep it in place on the necklace.

The necklace magically floated towards Link and tied itself around his neck. Although, the falcon was gone, he could still hear her voice, echoing from somewhere far away; _"I am now bound to you, Link. This key signifies our bond. My name is Pipaya and my power is light. When you fear the darkness, call upon me to light your way by singing my song: Pipo-pipo-peeta-po!"_

_Sing?_ He couldn't sing. Not the ridiculous words at least. The tune, he could probably howl out.

" _Do not hesitate to ask for my help in your search of your sword. Pipo will show you how to return to the temple's entrance."_

"I will, Mom!" shouted the little sparrow after she landed on Link's head. "Say 'Hello!' to everyone in the spirit world!"


	6. Solar Guidance

Bisca smiled and nodded out of kindness as she listened to another one of Berta's life stories. Seated across from the elderly woman at one of the small, round, rickety tables in the temple's mess hall, the green-haired mage of Fairy Tail was quite enjoying the other's company. The seventh person to be interrogated, Berta was the friendliest and chattiest of the followers of Light so far. And she didn't hesitate to answer any of Bisca's questions.

Not only that, the old woman went out of her way to prepare a tray of assorted biscuits and a pot of deliciously sweet rooibos tea. They talked for a good solid hour, nibbling and sipping between conversations. Bisca learned more about the Temple of the Light God and its people from Berta than the other previous six people combined. And that included the stuck-up High Priestess named Zanna.

Oh, Bisca did _not_ like talking to the High Priestess. Gold eyes like a hawk and a tongue as sharp as a knife, it wasn't easy getting answers from the older, intimidating woman without feeling like a nuisance in the presence of a more 'superior' person. Their conversation had been the briefest exchange of dialogue in Bisca's history of interrogations, not that the sharpshooter would complain. The instant Miss Stuck-up abruptly excused herself for being too busy to carry on, the mage was more than happy to walk away and seek out another person for questioning.

From the other six people including Berta, Bisca had learned that there were four individuals who were in control of opening and closing the holy doors of the temple: the High Priestess Zanna, High Priest Owen, Priestess Rita, and, of course, Priest Jarron. Each one had one of the four Holy Staves of the Light God, (which acted like the temple's master keys), and only they were allowed to touch them for 'Light had chosen them to be their wielders'.

There were a total of fifty-five worshippers of Light living at Lake Hemlock and there hadn't been any new members for a while. The last person to join the community was over a year ago, so that ruled out the possibility of suspecting a newcomer of theft. Everyone was accounted for; no one was missing, which made Bisca wonder if the thief was truly among them. It was still a good possibility; the community didn't take into account who was present between the start of last night's commotion and the moment the Divine Blade From Heaven was discovered to be stolen from the altar.

The sky sword went missing in the middle of the night, roughly around two in the morning. It was around that time the followers of Light were abruptly awakened by a loud explosion coming from the Temple of the Light God. The Divine Blade From Heaven should have been _impossible_ to steal, according to one of the large, handsome and muscular men Bisca had a chance to speak with. The sword had pierced deep into the ancient stone of the altar and no one in the temple, not even the strongest, could pull it free or make it budge. The only way to free the blade was to damage the altar in the process, which someone had the joy of doing in excess.

The first person who found the sword missing was High Priest Owen and that was the next person Bisca wanted to talk to next.

After finishing her second cup of delicious tea, Bisca told her new friend, "Thank you for your time, Berta. It was a pleasure talking to you. You've been a big help."

The kind old woman smiled, making the corners of her eyes and mouth wrinkle. "I'm glad to be of any help," she replied. "I certainly hope you and your friends can find the one who defiled our sacred altar and stole Light's gift to us. If there is anything I can help you with, please ask."

"There is one thing," Bisca began, "Where can I find the High Priest, Owen?"

Berta thought for a moment, pursing her lips and absent-mindedly twirling the end of her long, braided gray hair. "Ah, I believe he is down in the Lower Shrine as usual," she finally answered. "I can show you where that is." She stood up and started to clean up the table.

Bisca jumped to her feet to help, ignoring the old woman's protest. Once the dishes were rinsed and everything else put away, Berta started to lead the sharpshooter out of the mess hall. For a woman of seventy-five years, Berta could move pretty fast. Bisca was almost jogging right after the petite, old woman as they ventured down a long, empty corridor.

To break the silence, Berta went on to talk about another interesting story about her life many years before she had chosen to wear the robe of white. Halfway through her story and without missing a beat, there was a large, heavy door situated at the end of the hall and Berta threw her small, elderly frame into it like a tackling sports-ball player, shoving the huge slab of wood and iron wide open to reveal a stone staircase that spiraled down.

Bisca smiled in amusement as Berta ushered her inside and proceeded to kick the door shut, never pausing in her tale. There was no railing lining the inner spiral of the stairs, but thankfully the steps were wide enough for up to three people to walk side by side. However, the outer person had to watch their step or else one misstep could result in a fatal drop to the bottom five stories down. Hanging down the center was a long, thick chain with Lacrima lamps, in the shape of metal birds, attached to the links at intervals to light the stairway.

Carved into the smooth wall at the top of the staircase was the same image of the holy falcon superimposed over a radiant sun. As they ventured down, there were smaller birds etched into the stone, frozen in flight. It didn't take long for Bisca to recognize the little birds as sparrows and she counted twelve of them, each in a different location in the spiral staircase, all soaring towards the holy one waiting at the top.

There was no door at the bottom but an entranceway that led to a hallway that differed from the other hallways Bisca had walked through so far. The ceiling was high and arched and the floor was dark and shiny. It felt like Bisca was walking on precious onyx glass from the sound of her clinking heels. She treaded lightly, afraid to break the floor, but after witnessing Berta swiftly move about without a care, the sharpshooter quickened her pace to catch up.

At the end of the short hallway was a fairly large chamber with a domed ceiling that depicted a large, radiant sun made from golden tiles. The strong smell of incense plagued the room due to the numerous burning sticks placed upon the three altars carved into each of the three walls. Perched atop the altars were small Light Lacrima statues of none other than the temple's Light God in three different poses: on the altar to Bisca's left, the falcon was resting; on the right, the falcon had its wings spread out; on the farthest, opposite of the entrance, the falcon was in mid-flight.

On the glassy black floor in the centre of the chamber used to be twelve supporting pillars built into a ring around yet another majestic symbol of the haloed falcon against the sun. All but one of the columns were broken. Bisca's violet eyes traced the crimson lines decorating the lone pillar towards the red sun marked near the top as she strolled by, recognizing the same markings from the other pillars in the room with the sparrow statues. She wondered what sort of significance the twelve pillars held for Berta's religion.

There were a few people around, lighting new incense and replacing the old ones, and doing other duties. They only glanced at Bisca for a brief second before returning to their work.

The mage of Fairy Tail quietly followed the elderly woman towards the farthest altar where a plump man in white was busy cleaning up the ash collected on the altar top. He wore the gold-trimmed mantle which identified his status as the High Priest among the people of Light.

Hearing the women's approach, the man named Owen stopped in his work and turned around with a welcoming smile set upon a rounded, jolly face. He appeared to be younger than Jarron and Zanna, perhaps around fifty years old. He was well-groomed with a nicely trimmed salt-and-pepper beard and medium length black hair that was oiled and slicked back. Leaning against the altar was his Holy Staff of the Light God that was made of gray oak. The top was carved into the body of a falcon with its wings folded around an egg-shaped crystal that pulsed with golden light.

As Owen wiped his chubby, ash-covered hands on a white handkerchief, he greeted Berta with great enthusiasm, his voice booming in the chamber; "Blessings from Light! Welcome, my dear Berta!" His dark brown eyes gleamed with a child-like curiosity when he turned to Bisca. "Who is your friend?"

"High Priest, this is Bisca, one of the mages from Fairy Tail who have come all the way from Magnolia Town to help us find the Divine Blade From Heaven."

The green-haired woman politely nodded at the larger man.

High Priest Owen clapped his hands together, producing a loud smack. "Ah, yes! Fairy Tail!" he exclaimed, recognizing the guild name, "Jarron has told us about you. Thank you for coming all the way here, my lady! You are a blessing to us to show up in our time of need." One big hand covering the shining pendant hanging down his neck, he bowed his head at Bisca either out of thanks or respect, the mage wasn't quite sure.

Whichever it was, the gesture made Bisca momentarily forget about her confrontation with Miss Stuck-up. She smiled in return of his kind gesture. "Uh, thank you, sir," she said, trying to sound humble, "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I have some important questions to ask you, if you don't mind?"

The High Priest straightened, crossed his fingers over his big belly, and let out a hearty laugh that seemed to vibrate the whole room. "Oh! You're not interrupting a thing, my lady! I'm just doing a little cleaning before the evening prayer. Please, ask away."

"I've been told that you were the first person to discover the sword missing. Did you notice anything unusual on your way to the temple or altar?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Owen's jolly mood deflated like a balloon. With a heavy brow, he sighed and grasped his pendant. His voice even lost its strength and vigor. "Such a tragedy to befall our sacred temple," he murmured with a sad shake of his head, "I saw nothing out of the ordinary when I rushed up the mountain and through the temple halls. I didn't pay much attention, you see, for my mind was wracked with the terror that unfortunately came true."

Bisca nodded. "Were you alone when you first arrived at the sacred altar?"

"Yes. But I didn't enter the temple alone. Zanna, the High Priestess, was with me. We did not permit anyone else inside for it was our duty to protect the people from any danger. However, Zanna… she disappeared shortly before I entered the sacred valley only to reappear a few minutes later."

The mage narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Where did she go? Did you ask?"

The High Priest rubbed his beard seemingly out of nervousness while his rounded cheeks flushed red. He avoided Bisca's gaze. "Uh… Well, I shouldn't say… The poor dear hates it when anyone talks about her without her consent."

The sharpshooter wanted to scoff but refrained from doing so. She had to maintain her professional appearance no matter how much she disliked the High Priestess.

"The High Priestess isn't here to scold you so there's nothing wrong," said Berta with a wave of her hand. She winked at Bisca and the High Priest. "She doesn't need to know we said anything."

Owen frowned in guilt and looked around the chamber, on the lookout for the aforementioned High Priestess. "Err, w-well…" he began to stutter.

Bisca lowered her voice. "Any information could be helpful with our search, sir," she began with a little nod of assurance, "If anyone around the temple has been showing any suspicious behavior before and after the sword went missing, I'd like to hear it."

"Suspicious?" The priest's eyes widened. He quickly shook his head. "What? No! No! Zanna said she thought she saw something and went to investigate, but it turned out it was nothing. That's not suspicious at all!" He quickly slapped a hand over his mouth. "Please don't tell her I talked about her!" he begged in a hoarse whisper.

The green-haired mage furrowed her brow in thought. It sounded like a reasonable excuse, especially under the circumstances, but Bisca's gut was telling her not to accept it as the whole truth. After all, Miss Stuck-up avoided answering Bisca's questions, acting as if she was indeed hiding something. Wasn't that suspicious enough? "I'm afraid I can't disregard her as a suspect," said the sharpshooter.

"Wh-What?! How could you…?!" The High Priest's face suddenly turned bright red with anger. His nostrils flared as he pointed a fat finger in Bisca's face. "By the Thirteen Gods! How _dare_ you blame the High Priestess for desecrating our sacred altar and stealing the Divine Blade From Heaven!"

His furious outcry made Bisca jump back in alarm and directed everyone's attention towards her. She almost equipped one of her rifles out of battle instinct. Hands empty with fingers twitching for a trigger, it was her turn to break into a sweat when she felt everyone staring.

"W-Wait! I haven't come to that full conclusion yet, sir," Bisca told the fuming man hastily in hope of calming him down.

"Suspecting her is the same as _accusing_ her!" the priest roared. Bisca was pretty sure she saw spit flying.

The green-haired mage took a deep, steadying breath and straightened in her composure, not allowing the man, no matter what rank he was, to believe she had done something wrong. She narrowed her gaze to steel against the man's fury. "She is one of the possible suspects. It might not even be her, but I do know that someone in your temple is the one behind this. Please listen," she quickly added, raising her hand to stop Owen from breaking into another shouting rampage, "No one but the people in this temple knew about the holy sword before it was stolen. Don't you find that suspicious?"

Owen grumbled under his breath and huffed, "It is true that we were the ones who watched over the sacred sword and kept it secret from the public, but you cannot blame one of us for this heinous crime! We all follow the way of Light! Those who join us speak the sacred vow and undergo the purification ritual. The heart and soul is cleansed of all corruption and we are reborn anew! We are disciples of Light and we are the children of the Thirteen Gods!"

The chamber echoed with the High Priest's last sentence as every person present spoke along with him as if reciting a prayer.

Berta, hand held over her own glowing crystal, turned to Bisca with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, dear, but I agree with the High Priest. We are all blessed by Light. There is no one here with a heart touched by darkness."

Bisca bit the inside of her lower lip at the sudden change in atmosphere. Things had gone downhill pretty fast. All but Berta were giving her unfriendly looks, sending her silent messages to get the hell out of their shrine. Since it was obvious that, without evidence, none of them could be swayed into believing that one of their own could be guilty, Bisca decided to end her interrogation. She bowed her head and tipped her hat at High Priest Owen out of respect.

"Thank you for your time, sir," she said stiffly, doing her best to keep the frustration out of her voice. She managed to meet the High Priest's angry glower and held her gaze as she continued, "I'm sorry if I caused you and your people any harm. I see there is a strong trust between every member here and that is something I greatly respect. My team and I are doing everything we can to find out who could have taken the sword from the altar. I can only pray to your _Gods_ that the one responsible does not walk among you, disguised in a white robe."

Not waiting for a reply, Bisca twisted on her heel and walked away in a dignified manner, trying not to stomp her feet too hard on the glossy floor, fearing she might actually shatter it like real glass. She stared ahead, eyes locked on the exit, ignoring the whispers coming from the people standing off to the side. She heard Berta quickly excuse herself before soundly chasing after the sharpshooter.

"Lady Bisca, before you go," Owen's booming voice stopped the mage in her tracks and silenced the gossip. There was no anger in how he addressed the mage, only sternness. "I implore you, do not speak of your suspicions within these temple walls. It is not us who should judge the guilty, but the Thirteen Gods themselves. May Light guide you on your way."

Bisca held back her tongue and said nothing. She left the room without looking back. Once she was in the hall, Berta looped her arm around hers to grab her attention.

"I hope you're not upset at how that turned out," pleaded the old woman.

The mage sighed and turned to face the other. "Well, it certainly didn't go as well as I imagined," she grumbled. Her fingers were twitching again; she wanted to shoot something to cool her head. She forced a smile on her lips as she gently pried away the old woman's grip on her arm. "Thanks again for all your help, Berta. I'm done asking around so I'm going to join up with my husband. I hope we can have a nice chat over tea again sometime."

Berta was clearly disappointed, but then she nodded in understanding. "I'm glad to be of help, my dear. If there is anything else you want to know, you can always come to me for help! I'll make you some chamomile tea next time! Your husband and friends are welcomed to join us!" She reached out and firmly grasped Bisca's hands within hers. "I wish you the best of luck in finding the Divine Blade From Heaven. And I certainly hope you find the truth behind all this. May Light guide you on your way."

The sharpshooter smiled in assurance. "We'll find it so don't you worry. We'll do whatever it takes to get it back." With a wave of farewell, the mage left the old woman and started to jog up the stairs, leaving Berta behind. Talking to Berta made Bisca feel a little better, but overall, she was still irked by how Owen reacted to her opinion on the theft.

At least the stairs distracted the green-haired mage from all the foul thoughts running through her mind. She was out of breath and sweating by the time she reached the tenth sparrow on the twisted stairway. She cursed the stairs and then cursed herself because she had just remembered that she had no idea how to get back to Alzack and Erza without getting lost.

After struggling to open the heavy door and then finally slamming it shut behind her, Bisca decided to trace her steps back to the mess hall. Luckily, she ran into a young girl along the way who was eager to help when Bisca asked for directions.

The mage quickened her pace when she heard her husband's voice coming from the chamber with the sparrow statues. She found her team, along with Priest Jarron and Rhyson, back inside and in the midst of taking off their goggles, which was a good indication that they had just walked back in.

Alzack was blinking and looking around in a daze before his eyes could adjust to the dimmer light within the temple. He was all smiles the instant he saw his wife making her way towards him. "Bis, all done with the interrogations?" he asked while dropping off his goggles in the chest Rhyson held for him.

Bisca nodded. "I think I've gathered enough information for now. What did you guys find out there?"

"Well…" Alzack nervously glanced sideways at Erza and the men in white.

"It was some kind of giant monster," the scarlet-haired mage answered, meeting Bisca's curious gaze. "More likely a demon from the strange energy I can sense within the crater. It left large claw marks on some of the broken pieces of the altar. I think it tried to dig out the sword before it decided to blow the altar apart."

"I've told you," Priest Jarron growled through clenched teeth, "it _cannot_ be a demon! The Valley of the Light God is a sacred, holy place that repels all forms of evil!"

Erza harrumphed and crossed her arms stubbornly. "But you told us that all the Light Lacrima turn dark at night. Perhaps this demon took advantage of that and–"

"Are you listening to me, woman?!" the old man snapped, waving his staff rudely at Erza. "Even if the valley turns dark, it is still _protected_ by the Light God's holy power. The surrounding mountains are enchanted; no dark fiend can enter the valley, not even from the sky!"

Erza's mouth twitched into a snarl. She closed her eyes for a short moment and exhaled sharply out of her nose. "Then we're back to our first assumption," she said, forcing herself to act calm. She shot the priest an impatient glare that would normally turn all who opposed her into whimpering cowards. " _Someone_ in your temple must have summoned a demon at the altar to free the sword before taking it."

"Preposterous!" Jarron exclaimed, ignoring Titania's seething glower. "As I've said before, we are…"

_Here we go again…_ Bisca mentally groaned. She rolled her eyes and ran a hand down her face, tired of hearing how righteous and innocent the followers of Light were and that none of them could ever commit a sin.

Now she understood why Alzack was looking anxious a little earlier when he glanced in Erza's direction. It seemed like he was tired of the 'we-are-holy-thus-we-are-perfect' spiel as well, judging from his irritated frown. He faced his wife and sighed exasperatedly. "They've been going at each other like this since you left," he muttered quietly so only Bisca could hear. "The kid and I have been trying to keep them calm, but I think their patience has finally run out…"

The sharpshooter leaned close and whispered, "Then we should get out of here and discuss what we found outside. _Away_ from _them_." She discreetly motioned to the followers of Light with only her eyes. "These guys aren't going to listen to us and we've kept Romeo waiting for a while now."

Her husband nodded and they both turned back to the ongoing argument. Both felt a shiver down their spine when they saw Erza's murderous scowl that was directed at the little old man. She looked ready to strangle the priest who was somehow immune to her deadly glare.

Rhyson was stuttering as he tried his best to keep his grandfather from pushing the scarlet-haired mage too far; "G-Grandpa, if-if you think about it, s-she could be right b-because–"

"Be quiet, Rhyson!" the priest snapped.

That quickly shut the poor boy up. Red in the face with embarrassment, Rhyson backed away like a submissive animal and said nothing more.

Erza was infuriated, but before she could say her piece, (and likely tear a new hole in the priest), Bisca quickly ran up to her and started to pull the younger woman away. "H-Hey Erza, we're pretty much done looking around here for clues! Let's go and start searching for the sword, okay? Romeo's waiting for us outside and he's probably bored to death by now."

Titania growled and, thankfully, followed the sharpshooter without protest. "Very well," she managed to say without spitting out the words in anger. She took a deep breath and said in a somewhat calmer voice, "I suppose we should start searching the surrounding area for more clues."

Alzack kindly gestured for the priest and his grandson to start leading them out. With the men in white up front and the three mages in the back, the situation was unlike the first time the group walked through the long, empty corridors. There was a tense, awkward silence that neither party was willing to break. Thankfully, the journey to the front doors felt a lot quicker due to the faster pace they were moving at.

Bisca couldn't have been more relieved to step out from the cold, drab interior of the temple and into the warm rays of the late afternoon sun. Before the holy doors slammed shut, Priest Jarron left them a final message; "I hope you will remember that our temple is _impenetrable_ by the forces of darkness. No demon and no creature with a dark heart can ever step foot beyond these doors or the valley mountains. You believe that one of us is behind the theft, but I will tell you that is untrue because we would have found the perpetrator by now. I have faith that you will find the Divine Blade From Heaven. When you do, please, come see me again and you will receive your reward. May Light guide you on your way."

Erza growled and stormed away soon after the doors were closed. "Stubborn old fool," she snarled, throwing her hands in the air out of frustration, "It _has_ to be one of them. I see no other way for a demon to enter if he claims his temple to be 'impenetrable'. Why can't he understand this logic?"

"Are you sure it was a demon that did it?" Bisca asked as she chased after the fuming mage who looked ready to pulverize whatever got in her way with her steel-plated fists. Luckily, they were on an open plateau with nothing to smash to pieces unless the mountain cliffs counted.

Titania nodded. "The energy left in the crater felt… _dark_. Similar to some of the demons I've slain yet… not exactly. It's hard to explain. If it is not a demon, then I don't know what it is if it can pass through a holy barrier. After all, 'no creature with a dark heart can enter the sacred valley'," she improperly quoted Priest Jarron while poorly imitating his elderly voice. She ran her hands through her beautiful scarlet locks as she groaned at their stubborn client.

"I've run into a similar situation when I spoke of my suspicions," said Bisca, shaking her head at the memory of High Priest Owen's angry reaction. "They got pretty defensive. I even got the same lecture from the High Priest."

"You girls have to consider how they feel about it," noted Alzack, raising his brow at them. "You would react the same way if someone accused someone from our guild for doing something wrong without any proof."

Bisca frowned at the truth in her husband's words. Even Erza looked a tad guilty for being angry at the priest.

"You're not wrong about that," said Titania, giving Alzack a little smirk. She stopped just short of the annoyingly long stairway at the end of the plateau and turned to Bisca. "So, what did you find out from them that may help us solve this mystery?" she asked, placing a hand on her hip.

The sharpshooter was about to spill everything she had learned when she suddenly realized something. "Wait a minute… where's Romeo? And Links?" She looked around the plateau, finding it empty and quiet.

Alzack did a quick scan and shrugged. "They're probably down the stairs with the animals," he said.

Bisca shook her head. Her tracking spell was telling her a completely different story. She slowly turned and craned her head to stare at the highest peak of the nearest mountain that overlooked the temple, mouth agape. "What? I don't believe this…" she uttered in both awe and horror.

Her husband blinked before quickly realizing what she meant. "Wait, he's… Links is up _there?!_ " he exclaimed, pointing at the mountain top. "How in Earthland did he get up there? Is Romeo up there too?!"

"No idea," was Bisca's answer to both of Alzack's last questions. Just when she thought it was impossible for the wolf to climb onto the roof of the temple, the clever little guy had to somehow prove her wrong. She scratched the back of her head as she tried to think of how the beast managed to climb to the top; the mountain trail ended at the temple, there was no other path to take and the mountainsides were steep, nearly a vertical incline.

"I didn't see any other trails on our way up here," said Alzack, furrowing his brow in thought. "D'you think he flew? Can sky wolves _fly?_ "

Bisca rolled her eyes and shot her husband a dubious look. "Be serious, Al. We'll worry about how he got up there later. We need to figure out how to get him down before he gets himself into more trouble!"

"I can get him for you and check if Romeo is up there too," offered Erza as she stepped towards the mountain, now dressed in her Black Wing Armour.

_Of course!_ Bisca almost forgot that Erza could fly with some of her armours. She was so glad to be working alongside Titania.

"Careful, Erza," warned Alzack with a teasing smile, "Don't let those temple guys see you in that. They'll mistake you for a demon for sure."

The shadow from the sun made the warrioress's smirk seem more wicked than normal. Indeed, she was like a demon (in both appearance and personality) when she wore the black armour set that had a pair of bat-like wings attached to the back.

"Thanks, Erza," said Bisca, returning to the matter at hand. "Try not to scare the little guy, okay? Next time, I might have to consider putting a leash on…" The sharpshooter trailed off when she heard a familiar howling that echoed around the mountains. All eyes rose to the very peak where the sound was coming from.

It was undoubtedly Links and he was singing. However, it wasn't his usual lonely, drawn out cry, but a fluctuation of different notes that formed a strange, captivating melody.

The song wasn't very long. When it ended, the final note seemed to reverberate throughout the mountain range.

Light suddenly flashed in the periphery of Bisca's vision. She, along with Erza and Alzack, turned sharply around just in time to see every engraved line that made up the holy symbol of the falcon in middle of the plateau alight with golden energy. And standing in the centre of the holy mark, illuminated in its golden radiance, was none other than Links and Romeo, with the boy looking just as shocked as the rest of the mages of Fairy Tail.

The light faded a second later, turning the lines back to its natural stone gray.

"Wow! What just happened?! Did we teleport here?!" Romeo exclaimed as he looked around and saw the temple. His wide eyes fell on the nodding wolf. He had yet to notice Bisca, Alzack, and Erza standing by the steps until Alzack called his name.

Both the boy and Links jumped in surprise. Romeo quickly got over his shock and started to grin in excitement the moment he saw his team. "Guys! You'll never guess what happened!" he shouted, unable to contain himself as he ran towards the trio with Links sprinting alongside him.

"What _did_ happen?" Alzack was first to ask, making his way over to meet the pair half-way with the women following right behind.

Bisca ran the last few feet when she saw the blood on the boy's clothes, her motherly instincts kicking in. "You're hurt!" she cried, grabbing his arms. She cringed at the ugly, dirty scrapes on the palms of his hands, his elbows, and on his legs. His face and clothes were covered in dirt and his hair was disheveled as if he had gotten himself into a rough fight. Macao was not going to be very happy with Bisca and Alzack when he saw his son again.

"How did you end up like this? Were you attacked?" she asked out of concern as she kneeled before the boy with a first-aid kit appearing in her hand.

"What? No! This was from climbing up the mountain," Romeo answered, pouting at the sharpshooter's need to tend to his wounds. "It's okay, it only hurts a little!"

"You are bleeding all over. You are _not_ okay," Bisca stressed, giving the boy a firm look. She hated seeing him hurt as much as she hated seeing her daughter and animals injured. Over the past six years, since Asuka was born and Romeo became like older brother to her, Bisca always treated Romeo like a son of her own. The mother often made sure he was out of danger during guild missions; however, she didn't expect him to suddenly decide to climb up an impossible mountain cliff when he was left alone with Links.

Alzack was flabbergasted. He pointed at the mountain. "You climbed up _that? How?_ " he asked incredulously.

The boy shook his head. "Not the outside – ah!" He flinched away when Bisca dabbed at his bleeding hand with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball.

"Sit down," commanded the green-haired mage, pulling on the boy's arm to stop his fidgeting.

Romeo gritted his teeth and obeyed, plopping down on the ground. "We climbed the inside of the mountain," he continued, grimacing from every disinfecting dab. "There was a secret door in the side of the mountain that Links opened."

Bisca turned to Links in surprise, noticing for the first time how dirty he had gotten as well. Almost all the white of his fur was now gray-brown with his paws stained the darkest. He nodded at her as if to agree with what Romeo had just said and stared intently with his bright blue eyes, most likely eager to know what she had found at the temple. Something silver glinted around his neck, most of it hidden by his thick mane.

Bisca raised a questioning eyebrow, wondering what it was and where he had gotten it.

"We ended up at the very top of the mountain. The view there was incredible. Oh! And Links can talk to ghosts!" Romeo went on, his excitement returning. "At least… I think it's a ghost. It told him how to open the secret door and – and it gave him a Celestial Spirit key! Look!" He pointed wildly at the silver object hanging around the wolf's neck.

Bisca had to pause in her work, overwhelmed at how ridiculous the boy's tale was starting to sound. And yet, it was the truth – she knew when Romeo was lying by his shifty eyes and telltale reddening of his ears.

Curious, Alzack kneeled in front of Links with a friendly smile and patted the animal's head before reaching down to grasp the key for a better look. "Hey, it is a Celestial Spirit key," he said in wonder. There was a yellow jewel on the bow of the key that sparkled in the sun. It was tied onto a black necklace that also had two golden feathers attached to it. Alzack met the wolf's intelligent gaze. "A _ghost_ gave this to you?" he asked skeptically.

Links' right ear twitched a few times. He looked annoyed before he snarled, snapped his jaws, and shook his head as if to shake something off. Alzack quickly backed off due to the wolf's odd behavior.

"It must be the ghost!" Romeo tried to explain, "He was acting just as weird before he opened the secret door. He was jumping around and growling a lot."

"A ghost?" Erza mused, back in her normal attire. She narrowed her eyes at the beast as if trying to see the so-called apparition haunting poor Links.

Links snorted, looked at each of them in turn, and shook his head, this time more slowly to say 'no, you're wrong!' to their questions. He grunted, turned around, and ran over to the carving on the ground. He stopped at the head of the falcon, turned to make sure the mages were still watching, and then lightly pawed the image of the bird. He flicked the silver key with his front paw and pointed his nose several times at the falcon while the group was trying to figure out what he was trying to tell them.

"The Light God?" Alzack wondered out loud, frowning in confusion.

Romeo suddenly jumped to his feet, his expression one of amazement as he gawked at Links. "That ghost at the top of the mountain was the Light God? And it… it _gave_ you the key?" he asked, bringing odd looks on the adults' faces.

But when Links nodded vigorously, Bisca was next to stand up in shock, her first aid supplies and Romeo's wounds forgotten. "No way…" she whispered.

"That can't be right," Alzack murmured, "Gods… don't exist, do they?"

The wolf barked and shook his head at Alzack's question, bringing more confusion among the group. He flicked the spirit key once more and nodded at the falcon in the stone, stomping his foot a few times by the bird's head.

_Argh, charades!_ Bisca pursed her lips and furrowed her brow as she tried to understand what Links wanted them to know.

From what she knew so far, the _Light God_ apparently gave Links a Celestial Spirit key, but the God was not truly a God. Was it because it was a _ghost_ as Romeo claimed it to be? And for what reason did it give Links a Celestial Spirit key?

Bisca could tell Links was becoming frustrated when he couldn't properly convey his message. He decided to run towards the temple instead.

Bisca shrieked at him to stop and sprinted right after him, afraid he would get shocked by the holy barrier. "Get back here! Stay away from those doors! It's dangerous!"

"Maybe he can enter now! He met the Light God!" shouted Romeo.

The boy's assumption was wrong.

The wolf yelped and jerked away from the stone doors when he attempted to touch it with a paw. He looked at Bisca when she reached him and motioned towards the doors with his nose.

The sharpshooter knelt before him. "You want to go in?" she asked and he nodded. "That's impossible, my little friend. That barrier is going to keep you out."

He bowed his head, his eyes looking sad. Bisca reached out and lifted his chin so he could see her face. She smiled. "Hey, don't cry. We got as many clues as we could while we were in there," she said.

He perked up, his blue eyes wide and his ears erect.

Even though the doors were closed, the mage was a little worried Priest Jarron and the other followers could somehow overhear her so she dropped her voice to a whisper. "One of these people might have taken your master's sword and may have summoned a demon to do the job."

The wolf snorted angrily. He pointed his nose at Bisca then nodded at the temple doors, his eyes pleading.

"You want me to go back in there?" she asked, not quite liking the suggestion. "I doubt they'll like having any of us back in there. They're quite adamant that none of them are capable of pulling off a crime and got very angry when we said it could be one of them."

Links let out a short bark, started to sniff the ground between them, nodded at Bisca and then gestured to the doors again. He repeated the action, even scraped his foot as if trying to dig a hole in the ground, when the woman couldn't figure out what he was telling her the first time.

"I think he wants you to search inside," interpreted Erza, walking over to join them.

Links nodded vigorously at Erza.

Titania's smile was smug at guessing the wolf's message. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed and hand upon her chin. "That's something we haven't considered. If the culprit is one of the temple worship, that person could have likely hidden the sword somewhere inside. Priest Jarron mentioned hearing a loud explosion coming from the temple in the middle of the night. Since there is only one path leading up to the temple, the thief would have needed to lay low and hide the blade for later because everyone down in the cabins would have been climbing up the mountain to investigate the noise."

The wolf nodded again, happily agreeing with Erza. He growled and nodded at the Temple of the Light God, wanting them to hurry up and search its cold, unwelcoming depths.

"That's it, huh? You think your master's sword is in there?" Bisca asked. She smiled in amusement and combed her fingers through the wolf's mane until she caught his new necklace. She held the silver key, wanting to take a closer look, and saw a twelve-pointed sun with a round yellow topaz jewel glinting in the middle of the bow. The two beautiful gold feathers tied to either side of it seemed to glow under the sunlight.

Links nodded, his blue eyes fierce and determined to get his master's weapon.

Bisca's gut twisted with envy. Damn the cruel Gods, she wanted to keep this awesome, loyal animal, but her heart knew she couldn't. "Did the Light God tell you it's in there?" she joked.

To her surprise, the wolf half-nodded after a moment of hesitation. The sharpshooter wanted to laugh at how _insanely bizarre_ the situation had turned into. She stood up and faced Erza. "How are we going to do this?" she questioned, dusting off her hands from touching Links' dirty fur. "If we state our reason for going back inside, they'll likely berate us again for accusing one of their own as the bad guy and not let us in."

"I doubt they'll like the idea of us asking to search every room in the temple," stated Erza. "They definitely won't believe that your wolf saw the Light God's ghost either."

"Does sound like a tall tale," Bisca admitted.

Erza hummed in thought and stared hard at the ground by her feet, one armoured hand tapping rhythmically against her plated elbow.

The sharpshooter gave Titania a moment to think while she turned to her husband and Romeo. Her eyes stopped short on the holy falcon carved into the plateau and she quickly remembered seeing the same symbol on the glossy black floor in the Lower Shrine.

A brilliant idea suddenly came to her mind, but first, she needed to confirm if it would work. She looked down at her furry friend, who met her gaze with a curious tilt of his head, and smiled.

* * *

The sun was setting, casting its final rays against the tallest mountain peaks. The sky was ablaze in colour from fiery red to pink. It was going to be a calm, warm, and cloudless night.

The splashing of the lake was accompanied by the songs of water-fowl, noisy insects, a crackling fire, human voices, and a twittering sparrow that only Link could hear, see, and touch.

"Is it time to go yet? Is it time to go?" the little spirit asked in a cheery song as she hopped between Link's front paws, her beady black eyes glancing up at the beast every time she landed. Her tiny light pendant illuminated the shadows under the tree, but only Link had the pleasure of seeing the darkness flicker from her every movement.

The wolf grunted, "No, not yet. We must wait until it is dark and the people are asleep in their cabins before we can head out." Exhausted from the day's events, he was resting beneath a tree near the lake shore, close enough to the humans' cooking fire that he could feel its heat through his damp fur. The mages had set up a temporary camp site by the lake that was a good distance away from the cabins.

After discussing and finalizing every step of their plan during the journey back down the mountain, Bisca had forced Link and Romeo to take a bath in the lake because of how filthy they had both gotten during their adventure through the secret, dusty passageway. At first, Link was hesitant to plunge into the cold water, (he hated how his fur got matted when wet), but when Mula and the other animals wanted to join in too, he jumped right in. A horse, a caribou, an ostwark, a wolf, an invisible sparrow, and a human boy all played around by the lakeshore until it was supper time.

The animals were fed first before the mages started preparing their own meal. Seated around the magic fire conjured up by Romeo were the boy, Bisca, and Alzack and they were enjoying each other's company as they chatted and ate. Erza had already eaten and had gone back with Big Joe to the temple to spy on the followers of Light. They needed to ensure that all fifty-five members had left the temple for Fairy Tail's plan to work without getting caught.

Bisca was told that usually by sundown, right after the evening prayer, everyone in the temple would retire to their cabins. As per tradition, the last person to leave was always the High Priest and High Priestess and they were also always the first to enter on a new day. Their religion strictly followed the path of the sun; rising at first light in the morning and resting the moment the sun disappeared behind the mountains.

The thief could be any one of them; Bisca suspected one of the four wielders of the Holy Staves of the Light God because they held the 'keys' to the temple doors. More specifically, she suspected the High Priestess named Zanna because of her sudden disappearance moments before the Master Sword was discovered missing from the altar. However, it may not be as obvious as that; someone could have 'borrowed' one of the staves in the middle of the night to gain access into the temple. An important question Bisca failed to ask during her interrogations was the whereabouts of the four wielders of Light after the people heard the explosion. To answer that, Alzack made an assumption that if one of the four was indeed missing, or if their holy staves were gone, someone would have certainly noticed and would have mentioned it. The biggest question was, if none of the four staves were taken, how did the thief manage to open the holy doors?

Perhaps someone knew how to dispel the holy barrier without a staff of Light. As Pipaya had mentioned, it was the humans who had first erected the barrier long ago, which implied that humans could manipulate it at will if they knew how. But from the information Bisca was telling her team and from what Pipo had observed in the past few centuries, it didn't sound like anyone knew how to open the doors without one of the four magical staves.

So far, Link had managed to convince Fairy Tail it was a demon that had stolen his sword after Erza spoke of her findings at the altar to Romeo. The group had finally come to the conclusion that someone in the temple was either capable of summoning a demon or was in league with a demon.

Hefnir strutted over to Link and squatted next to the wolf. He looked comical with his feathers puffed out and some poking at odd angles so they could properly dry. His bridle, saddle, and the mages' luggage were all removed by Alzack before the bird was allowed to play in the water. "Jealous, brother," the giant bird squawked in his chipper tone, "Ostwark jealous."

Link tilted his head at his feathered friend. "Why are you jealous, Hefnir?" he asked out of amusement.

"Brother mission with mistress. Ostwark want come too."

"It is not safe for you to come with us. It could be dangerous for there could be a demon lurking within that temple," the other replied.

Pipo chirped, "I wish he could come. I like him! He's so big!"

Link lightly shook his head at the spirit, making her look away in disappointment. He had told his animal friends about Pipo and Pipaya. Big Joe, of course, didn't quite believe his story.

_"Now you can see what we cannot see! You're full of surprises!"_ said the hoofed beast before breaking out in hysterical laughter. _"What next? Are you going to tell us you can fly too? Ah ha ha ha!"_

At least Mula and Hefnir knew the wolf spoke the truth. Since they already believed Link was truly a man who had fallen from the Twilight realm in the sky, invisible Celestial Spirits didn't sound too farfetched for them.

"What is de-mon?" the ostwark questioned.

"An evil creature," Link began to explain, a growl in his voice, "Much more dangerous than your natural predator."

The large bird seemed confused by Link's explanation. It was then that the wolf remembered that the ostwark was raised in captivity and had never experienced living in its natural habitat. Ostwarks were pretty damn fast as well so they probably didn't have too many predators in the wild.

"It is a dangerous creature," the wolf tried to explain again, "One that could endanger the lives of your mistress and her team if they are not careful."

"Oh no!" Mula cried when she overheard Link on her way over to join them. She, too, didn't have her reins or saddle and her legs were muddy and wet. The horse lowered her head and nudged the wolf's cheek with her nose with every exclamation; "You mustn't go against such a mean creature! You mustn't! You mustn't!"

Link brushed his nose against hers when he turned his head to look at her. "I must. It has taken what I need most," he replied, hardening his gaze to show his fearless ambition. "It is dangerous, yes, but I must hunt it down!" He shifted his attention to the three humans by the fire. "I will not allow it to harm any of them if the need to fight arises. I promise you both."

Mula snorted, blowing hot air in his face, and nudged him again, looking worried. "But what about you?"

The wolf showed his fangs in a confident smile. "I am a warrior, my friend. I have battled many creatures of the dark in this body and I have bled, I will not lie. Please, do not worry for me. I know how to fight and survive. I will return – no, we will return safely. You will see."

"You also have Mom to help you!" reminded Pipo, flying up to land on Link's head. "Mom will get you out of trouble!"

"And I have the help of the Light spirits," Link added, glancing up at the tiny spirit. Pipo chirped happily at being acknowledged.

"Spirit here now?" Hefnir asked, looking around the woods in search of what he could not see.

Link nodded, a gesture that made his little rider giddy with joy every time she was perched between his ears. "The daughter, Pipo. She is with me at all times, it seems."

"It's because you are my new master and I am here to guide you!" said Pipo, hopping up and down, her light dancing with her.

The ostwark kept uselessly searching the area for the sparrow. When he couldn't find her, he pointed his beak up to the sky and sang out loud, "Spirit, protect brother! Protect! Protect!"

"I will! I will!" the sparrow sang back. "Tell him I will, Master!"

"She says she will," Link relayed the message. He received joyful songs from both of his feathered companions.

By nightfall, Erza returned on Big Joe. "All fifty-five have descended the mountain and are now in their cabins," she informed as she steered her mount towards the waiting group.

Bisca stood up and stretched all the while trying to suppress a yawn. "Looks like I'm up next," she said, exchanging nods with her husband and teammates. She left the fire and headed for Mula that she had saddled and bridled half an hour ago. "Remember, guys. Meet me at midnight."

"Will do," responded Alzack, giving her a quick salute.

As she passed by the wolf resting beside a sleeping ostwark, she said, "You can take a nap too, Links. It'll be a few more hours before we move, okay?"

With that, she mounted her horse and the pair disappeared beyond the light of the fire. Her mission was to keep an eye on the people in their cabins to see if any one of them were going to sneak out when everyone else was sound asleep. If Bisca saw any suspicious activity, she would leave a note at the rendezvous point and follow the person at a safe distance. If she saw nothing, she would meet up with the others and together, they would travel back to the temple with only the moon to guide them.

Link took the mistress's advice and shut his eyes for a little sleep. However, it was a little difficult to nap when Pipo kept disturbing him. She was constantly moving on his body, never able to stand still. And she kept asking when it was time to go. Only when he promised to play with her after his nap did she finally settle down and stayed quiet.

He was abruptly woken up by an annoyingly happy sparrow shrieking in his ear that was quickly followed by her more infuriating beak.

"It's time to go, Master! Time to go! Up! Up! Play! Play!"

The disgruntled wolf growled as he bolted awake and shook his head angrily in an attempt to throw off the biting spirit. He heard her giggling in delight before feeling her land on his head. He blinked away the sleep in his eyes, his sight quickly adjusting to the brightness of Pipo's small glowing crystal. Beyond her light, everything was outlined in the faint, silvery glow of the waxing moon. He sensed Alzack standing very close and sharply turned his head.

"Hey, easy there, Links," coaxed the man who was just a foot away from the beast, hands held up defensively to protect himself from the wolf's grouchy mood. "It's just me, your pal, Alzack. Come on, boy. It's midnight. Time to go."

The wolf snapped at the word 'boy' but was soon interrupted by a mighty yawn. He nodded right after, bringing a humorous smile on the man's face. While Alzack was busy getting Hefnir ready, Link went to the lake for a quick drink, thankful it was cold as ice to wake up his tired mind.

He took a moment to admire the beautiful scenery, seeing the moon's reflection on the lake's surface and the dark silhouette of the mountains against a starry night sky. When he heard Hefnir start to sing his "Going! Going!" song, he left the shore.

As promised, Link played with his little rider by running through the woods, purposely jumping over bushes and boulders to make her cry out in joy. With the spirit's crystal lighting the way, it was easy to maneuver in the night. Trotting close behind them was Erza, Alzack, and Romeo on their respective mounts.

The group stopped short of the cabins, moving at a walking pace at the border of the forest to minimize noise. Through the gaps of the trees, Link could see nothing but darkness in the windows of every cabin. Even the Light Lacrima hanging above each door were not shining in the night.

Link caught the scent of Bisca and Mula and led the others to their exact location.

The green-haired mage smiled upon the group's arrival. "No one has left their cabins in a while," she whispered, making the strange, large black weapon she carried vanish in thin air. She hopped onto Mula's saddle. "Let's hurry to the temple."

As quietly as they could, the reunited team made their way around the residential area and onto the mountain trail. From there, the animals sprinted up the rocky path, turning their journey into a race of sorts. Link was in the lead since he was more nimble and did not have a burden to carry upon his back. The four beasts were panting by the time they reached the many steps that led to the plateau.

While Bisca was complaining about climbing those awful steps again, Link hung back as his animal friends told him to be careful.

"Be safe, Link," neighed Mula, stomping her foot to make her point clear. "I really hope you find your sword and nothing else."

"Don't die! Don't die!" cried Hefnir.

"He's not going to die!" shrieked the mare, appalled at the large bird's choice of words. "He'll be coming back! He said so!"

Big Joe laughed, but was soon hushed by Erza for being too loud. Once the scarlet-haired mage walked away to join the others already starting the arduous trek up the hundreds of steps, the caribou spoke in a low, rumbling tone, "If you come back a man, then I'll believe everything you told me, fanged one." He grinned, showing all his yellow teeth.

The wolf took that as a challenge. "Then I will come back as a man," he said, giving his companions one last look before he made his way up the ancient steps.

Link was second to reach the top while Erza was first, looking the least bit tired from such a climb. Last, but not least, was Alzack and Bisca. The green-haired woman was huffing and puffing, more so than her husband, by the time she stepped foot onto the plateau.

Romeo instructed the adults to stand within the sun carved into the ground, having been shown what to do when Link first tried activating the magic warp circle. Once in position, all eyes were on the wolf standing in the center.

"Alright, Links," began Bisca, giving the wolf a knowing smile, "Get us inside."

Pipo chirped upon her perch on Link's head; " _Pipa-piyo,_ the _Sun-warp_ song, do you remember it, Master?"

"I am afraid not," he answered truthfully, "Please, sing it for me again."

He closed his eyes and listened closely to the sparrow's short, magical melody.

" _Piyo-piyo-pi-ay-yo! Piyo-piyo-pi-ay-yo! Peeta-ta peepo-po!_ "

After hearing it sung a second time, he raised his nose and howled the song to the moon. Once the last note left his throat, he saw light flash before his closed eyelids and heard the mages gasp in surprise. When he opened his eyes, he was blinded by a familiar golden light that felt warm and welcoming like the morning sun. Then he no longer felt the ground beneath his feet, only air. Next thing he knew, he was flying through the blinding light towards the destination he had set in his mind.


	7. The Light that Shines in the Darkness

Link's ears pricked at the melody being sung softly by another in the magical realm of golden light. He was blinded; he could not see the singer but he recognized the voice and it belonged to Pipaya. The Celestial Spirit was guiding him to his next destination once again, beautifully singing each note of her Sun-warp song as the wolf and his companions soared like birds within the falcon's magic.

The final note resonated within the hero's chest before he felt the cold ground beneath his four feet. The great spirit's presence and her light vanished a second later, leaving Link and his companions in a dark, silent room.

Link's nose was suddenly assaulted by the stifling odour of sweet incense. It was as if a handful of those fragrant, burning sticks were shoved right into his face. He sneezed, snorted, and grumbled in discomfort, wishing he was back outside in the fresh mountain air. Unfortunately, this was where he needed to be – or so he hoped that they were in the right place. He rapidly blinked his eyes to adjust to the dimmer light provided by Pipo's shining pendant and checked his surroundings.

Although the wolf was gifted with a light spirit's blessing, the mages were not.

"H-Hey, what happened? Where are we?" Alzack was first to ask in a panicked whisper, trying his best to hide the quiver in his voice, "I can't see anything! Have I gone blind?!"

"Al, calm down," said Bisca in a quiet but stern tone as she reached blindly towards her husband and found his arm. "I think we're in the right place… It smells about right…"

"Don't worry, I got this," said Romeo bravely. He held up a hand that instantly ignited with bright orange fire. The boy had excellent control over his magic for the bandages that covered his scraped palms did not singe or burn. Shadows receded to reveal the large chamber they now occupied.

During the time it took for the humans to adjust their eyes to the new light, Link looked around, recognizing the magic circle beneath his feet and the crimson markings on the lone pillar situated at the circle's perimeter. Firelight reflected off the strange, smooth, black stone that made up the floor, making it seem like they were standing on onyx glass.

The wolf glanced up, no longer seeing the moon and stars but a glimpse of a domed ceiling, the details obscured by shadows. There was a small altar carved into each of the three walls while the fourth opened up into a dark hallway.

The room was empty, much to their expectations.

Link flinched at the sharp sound of Bisca's heels clinking on the floor when she stomped her foot down a few times. "Yup. We're definitely in the right place," she said, "This is the Lower Shrine of the temple." Flashing a wide smile, she kneeled beside Link and hugged him tight before pecking his cheek. "You did it! You cease to amaze me, you know that, little guy? You're so gosh darn _incredible_."

"He's a sky wolf after all," commented Alzack humorously, giving the furry beast a friendly pat on the head, his hand harmlessly passing through Pipo. "No holy barrier can keep you out, right, buddy? Not when you're friends with the ghost of the Light God."

 _That's right,_ thought Link smugly. He secretly enjoyed the praise and attention and tried to pretend he was annoyed by the couple's touch, but his wagging tail betrayed him. Never had he felt so excited before; knowing he was one step closer to his goal made him undeniably happy. He was so close now – somewhere within these mountain walls was the sword that could free him of his curse.

Bisca playfully tousled the wolf's mane as she stood up and diverted her attention to the room itself. "Now, why's it so dark in here? Did they turn off all the Light Lacrima before they left?"

Erza scoffed and crossed her arms. "When they said all Lacrima turn dark at night, I didn't think it included the ones inside this temple," she remarked, her displeasure visibly highlighted in Romeo's flame.

Alzack shrugged and said jokingly, "Saving magic power probably. Or, thinking along their religious reasons: _thy holy Light God sleeps from sunset to sunrise, thus why it is dark_." He spoke the last part whilst copying Priest Jarron's tone of voice and mannerism, bringing amused smiles from his teammates.

Meanwhile, Pipo seemed quite distressed. She hopped frantically around on Link's head and chirped worriedly, "Mom's light… Why has her power gone out?"

"Could it be the demon your mother spoke of?" Link questioned, "Or what Alzack has said is true?" As he spoke, he scanned the shadows warily with his eyes and ears. His superior sense of smell was rendered useless by the incense smoke lingering in the air. Not being able to use his nose made him feel vulnerable at the moment.

"I'm not sure," Pipo replied tentatively. She started to shiver – out of fear or cold, Link wasn't too sure.

"It's been too long since I've come down here," she continued in a quiet voice, "It doesn't feel like home anymore… It's so dark and cold! I don't like it!"

The wolf looked up to meet her frightened stare. "Stay close to me," he told her.

The sparrow hopped up and down. "I will, Master! I won't leave you!"

Link gently nodded and listened to the mages as they discussed their next course of action.

"… nothing suspicious down here in this shrine," noted Bisca.

"We should start searching the rest of the temple," said Erza while making her way to the only exit. "We need all the time we have to search every room before dawn."

Everyone started to follow her, their footsteps ringing loud against the strange, glass-like floor in the vast chamber.

To Link, the clean, polished stone was as slippery as smooth ice, forcing him to tread carefully to avoid stumbling over. He prayed every floor of the temple was not made with the same black stone as he stepped behind the group.

Alzack heaved a sigh and grumbled wearily, "This place is huge. We'll have to split up to cover as much ground as possible."

Bisca gave her husband a worried look as she strolled alongside him. "Splitting up might be a bad idea. It's easy to get lost and not to mention the demon that may be lurking around. Erza, do you sense anything out of the ordinary?"

Erza shook her head. "Not at the moment. We could split into two groups."

"I suppose that's best. How about the boys and Links form one group and me and Erza the second?" suggested Bisca, "That way I can keep track of where you guys are."

"That'll work," the other woman agreed with a curt nod.

Alzack pouted soon after and leaned right into his wife's ear. He started to whisper loud enough for Bisca to hear and Link to accidentally eavesdrop; "Aww, I want to be with you."

The green-haired mage shot her husband a teasing smile and murmured back; "Remember your promise to Macao, Al. Wouldn't be safe to leave Romeo alone with you-know-who."

Alzack quietly snickered. "Guess you're right. Only you can rein _her_ in."

Link glanced between the pair, curious to know who and what they were talking about. Unfortunately, he couldn't ask, but only listen.

They began their journey up the spiraling stairs that were thankfully fashioned from the coarse mountain rock. Hanging down the open centre was a thick, heavy chain that gleamed in the flickering flame in Romeo's hand. Attached to the links were metal birds and clutched within their talons were unlit Lacrima that sparkled like jewels when caught in the passing firelight.

Link craned his head, his blue eyes tracing the length of the chain where it disappeared high in the darkness above them.

Bisca groaned shortly after taking the first few steps up the stairs. "Ugh! A million more stairs! Why did they build it five stories high?"

"Uh, Bis?" Alzack began while giving his wife a teasing smile, "A million stairs is more than five stories high, just so you know."

Bisca lightly slapped her husband on the shoulder and growled out, "Oh, you know what I mean."

Alzack chuckled while Link couldn't help but grin at their playful behaviour.

As the mages continued to chat amongst themselves, Pipo diverted Link's attention. "Look, Master! On the wall! That's my brother, Papo!" she exclaimed right into his ear as they strolled past a carving of a sparrow soaring in the same direction they were heading.

The wolf raised his brow in surprise and paused for a better look at the carving that was lit up by the sparrow's pendant. "You have a brother?" he questioned.

"A long time ago…" The excitement in the little spirit's voice instantly died, replaced by sadness. "Six brothers and five sisters… They're all gone now though, but you can find them forever on these walls and as statues in this temple. Our old master made all of this for us. He built this whole temple. Every room and hall, every statue and pillar, he made them all by himself."

Silently, Link resumed climbing the stairs and rejoined the others, his mood now as somber as Pipo's. It wasn't difficult to understand that Pipo's siblings were no longer around due to some tragic reason. Asking what happened would no doubt dampen the mood further, so wanting to cheer up his companion, he said instead, "By himself? It must have taken your old master a long time to build this entire place!"

His comment brought a cheery giggle from the sparrow. "Only one-hundred and sixty-seven Earthland years!"

Link balked, his jaw dropping wide in genuine surprise. He looked up to meet the sparrow's beady gaze. "H-How is that possible? For your master to live so long, laboring away at this temple?"

Pipo laughed again. "One-hundred and sixty-seven Earthland years does sound very long to mortal ears, but to spirits and dragons, that's not very long at all! Only a fleeting moment!"

"Wait… You're old master was a _dragon?_ " Link had never thought his eyes could go any wider than they already were.

"That's right! Beast Dragon Otharo. He was the greatest. Truly the greatest! Just like you, he could speak the language of beasts, but he could also change his form into any beast too!"

"Links? Is something wrong?" Bisca called when she noticed the wolf frozen on the steps.

Link shook his head and quickly caught up to the woman and her husband who had stopped to wait for him.

"Let us know if you find something," Bisca told him as she gave him a little scratch behind the ear. "The faster we find your master's sword, the faster we can get you home. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

The wolf nodded in silent agreement. _You have no idea, my dear mistress._

They continued up the winding stairs, this time in walking silence. Footsteps, the rhythmic clanging of armour, and the steady clicking of claws were the only sounds that echoed throughout the hollow stairway. Even Pipo had fallen oddly quiet.

Link looked up at his feathered companion, seeing her staring forlornly at another one of her siblings etched on the wall. Feeling sympathetic, he let the little sparrow have a moment to herself while his thoughts wandered to the surprising identity of the light spirits' previous master.

" _You remind me of him except you are more hairy while he was scaly. And he was much bigger and more intimidating in appearance,"_ he remembered Pipayo saying back at the mountain peak.

Link was still in shock over the discovery. Every dragon he had encountered in Hyrule were fierce, dangerous, fire-breathing fiends that wanted nothing more but to stab, bite, and burn Link to a crisp.

After battling the armoured Twilit Dragon Argorok high up in the stormy heavens of the sky city of the Ooca, Link was convinced that all large dragons were downright evil.

" _You share my old master's kindness…"_

So there were kind, friendly dragons in the world as well. And Link did not need to meet Pipo's old master to believe that fact to be true. The light spirits spoke fondly of their old master and they themselves were kind in heart.

By the time they reached the seventh sparrow, Pipo said, "I wish my brothers and sisters could meet you, Master. They would have loved to play with you."

Link mentally smiled. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have twelve energetic sparrows riding on his back, all twittering and begging for fun. Noisy for sure, but to have the whole family together, it would have definitely been a happy moment.

"I would have loved to meet them as well," the wolf replied softly.

"We Celestial Spirits are immortal beings," Pipo continued, "When we die in Earthland, we are reborn in the Celestial Spirit World. But that is not always true… There are some demons that can absorb the souls of spirits… Powerful, _evil_ , demons…"

She shuddered and her voice dropped to a murmur. "Over a thousand years ago, a terrible demon appeared in these mountains – an _enormous_ , ugly, and frightfully strong demon! It smashed apart mountains and flattened forests with ease. It threatened to destroy our home and everything around it. We battled against the demon – our master and every Celestial Spirit still under his command – we fought together for seven days and seven nights until the fiend was defeated. However… H-However…" she started to choke on tears and Link could only frown.

"M-My brothers a-and sisters…" the sparrow sputtered between sobs, "They were _eaten_ by the demon a-and Master Otharo… H-He suffered a fatal wound… and… and…"

Link tried to hush the little spirit but it was impossible to do as a wolf. The only noise he could make was a sad whine that caught Bisca's attention. A slight shake of his head was enough to convince the green-haired woman that there was nothing wrong when asked.

Shrugging, Bisca went back to complaining about how the steps were never-ending while Link spoke quietly to Pipo.

"Your master was truly the greatest," he said, bowing his head out of respect. "A courageous, unyielding, strong-willed and caring dragon of might. He and your siblings fought bravely to protect what they loved. Do not cry, but be proud for were it not for their sacrifice, this temple you call home may not be here, nor would you and your mother."

To battle against a powerful, evil demon for seven days straight, both dragon and spirits were undoubtedly the strongest, bravest individuals Link could admire. He had nothing else to say that could make the sparrow feel better. He was never good with words when it came to helping others through pain and sorrow; he was a man of action. It was usually Ilia who could comfort the heart-broken and depressed with a few choice words.

"'Be proud'…" Pipo echoed, swallowing her tears. "That's what Mom always told me. She said they died as heroes… and I should be proud of what they did. You're right, if… if it weren't for them, I wouldn't be here talking to you…"

She fell silent as they approached another sparrow carved into the wall. Link had lost count at how many sparrows they had passed so far, but he knew it was only a few more before they reached the top of the stairs.

"Thank you," said Pipo with newfound happiness, "for coming to this temple and becoming my new master, Link. Mom and I have been waiting so very long for someone like you. Please promise you'll be our master forever!"

The wolf snorted in laughter and peered up at the pleading bird looking down at him from her comfy perch atop his head. "Although my lifespan is not as long as a dragon's, I promise you and your mother that I will be your master and friend for as long as I live."

"Thank you! Thank you!" Pipo sang cheerily and nuzzled her tear-soaked cheek lovingly against the wolf's forehead, making the beast mentally smile. "I can't wait to tell Mom. She'll be so happy!"

With the sparrow back to her normal self, climbing the rest of the stairs didn't seem so tiring, (although the same couldn't be said for poor Bisca as she huffed her way through the final stretch). Waiting before the heavy door made of wood and iron was the holy image of Pipaya and the radiant sun, as if welcoming the mages and wolf into the main temple.

Erza carefully pried the door open ajar and peered into the dark hall on the other side. Once deemed safe, she stepped out with everyone else close behind her.

Once on the other side of the door, Link could breathe a lot easier for the smell of incense was not as sickeningly strong as in the Lower Shrine. The scent of stale smoke mingled with the faint traces of perfumes that the people of the temple had worn that day.

Blue eyes glanced around the long, empty corridor they stood within, marveling the polished stone that palely gleamed in the light of Romeo's flickering fire. Link questioned how a dragon could have laid these stone brick walls so perfectly and how it could fit in these halls that appeared to be designed for humans.

Beyond the boundary of light was nothing but the darkest shadows down the hall, cold and unwelcoming, quite the opposite of the temple's name.

"With all the lights out, it's rather spooky in here," said Alzack in a hushed tone. "What? I'm not afraid of the dark or anything," he quickly added when he saw the look on his wife's face.

Bisca giggled and said, "Well, if you feel a little scared, just stay close to Romeo and Links. They'll protect you, right, guys?" She looked between the boy and wolf and received amusing nods from both and a pout from her husband.

Her face became determined as she turned to towards the dark hall to their right. "Erza and I will search this way and you guys search that way. If you guys find the sword first, grab it and come find us. Links," she held out her hand in front of the wolf's nose, "you got my scent?"

The beast nodded. He had imprinted her scent to his memory since the first day she had introduced herself.

Smiling, she gave the wolf one last pat on the head and joined Erza's side. "And if we find it first, we'll come looking for you guys. Don't wander away from each other, understand? And try not to break anything!"

Alzack grunted and crossed his arms. "Hey, we're not all children here. No need to tell us these things."

"Sometimes you need a good reminder, Al. Remember what happened last year? With Mrs. Falleon's heirloom vase?"

Ignoring the man's grumbled retort of, "I only shot it by accident…", Erza gave a stern warning, "Remember, we are not supposed to be here. Make sure to keep everything in place."

"Understood," said Romeo and Alzack at once, not risking any argument with the scarlet-haired woman.

Grinning, Bisca snapped her fingers. "Now, let's get to work."

With wishes of good luck and warnings to watch out for demons, the two groups went their separate ways. While the males had Romeo to light their path, the female pair relied on a shard of Light Lacrima that Erza had with her.

Link trotted ahead of Alzack and Romeo, far enough that they could still see his tail in the boy's firelight. Pipo's pendant shone within the darkness in front of the wolf, partially revealing what the long, empty corridor had to offer. Compared to what Link had seen in the temple so far, the hall was dull and lacking in decoration.

Link found a plain, wooden door down the next hall in which he needed to wait for Alzack to open. Inside was a large room containing rows of ceiling-high shelves filled with thousands of old, dusty books and musty, yellow scrolls. The group searched every corner and found nothing that could hide a majestic sword of light.

Over the next hour, they entered one room after the next, each one ending with the same disappointing result. From old junk to dry foods, none of the rooms they searched held anything suspicious or any clues.

During the whole time, Pipo told stories about each room and what they were used for in ancient times.

"The humans have taken good care of the temple over the centuries. If it wasn't for them, this place would be dusty old ruins by now," she commented.

Link had been listening to the chatty bird with only half an ear as he fervently searched every nook and cranny. Growing frustrated, Link dashed out of the current room only to skid to a halt when Alzack shouted for him to wait.

The wolf growled and glared at Alzack in annoyance, making the man flinch back and hold his hands up in defense.

"Hey, easy there, buddy," said Alzack in a calming tone, as he carefully approached the impatient beast with Romeo right behind him. "I'm just as frustrated as you are. I know you want to find your master's sword as quick as possible, but searching every room isn't going to work, it'll take forever and that's time we don't have." Furrowing his brow, he leaned against the wall and rubbed the side of his tired face. "I've been thinking, if I were a thief who stole something very _important_ to these people, I wouldn't hide it in a place that's easily accessible to anyone. I'd hide it somewhere secret that no one else or maybe only a few would know."

"It's possible there could be a secret room somewhere in this temple," Romeo chimed in, setting his attention on the wolf. "Links did find that hidden path in the mountain. What do you think, boy? Can your ghost friend help us?"

"I'm not a ghost!" Pipo squawked angrily while hopping up and down on Link's head.

"Nor am I a boy," the wolf grumbled with a snort as he turned away from the humans for a moment. "You are invisible to them so they perceive you as a ghost, Pipo," he explained to the bouncing sparrow, "But never mind that. Can it be true? Is there a sealed door within this temple that only a few can open?"

The bird paused and began to ponder, tilting her head this way and that. "Hmm… Let's see if I can remember… Oh! I know! Izazza's Sanctuary! Come! Follow me!"

The sparrow was already a glowing speck at the other end of the dark hall before Link could even say, "Iza-who?"

Link quietly grumbled to himself before looking over his shoulder to meet Romeo's curious stare and Alzack's look of disbelief. Before they could even question him, he bolted away to chase after Pipo.

"Hey!" exclaimed Alzack out of surprise.

"I think the Light God is showing him the way!" said Romeo, "Let's go!"

"Uh, alright…" the other muttered hesitantly.

A pair of footsteps soon followed the wolf through the dark corridors. Although the light spirit was far ahead, she made sure to wait for Link to see her before she would disappear around corners. In turn, he had to patiently wait for the Alzack and Romeo to catch up before sprinting off again. Left, right, around a number of bends, Pipo led the hero and the two mages of Fairy Tail through what seemed like half of the entire temple until finally reaching a large, domed chamber. It appeared to be a grand hall for ceremonies and gatherings with pillars marked with crimson suns and falcon-head sconces lining the central walkway and a raised altar at the far end.

Pipo was spiraling in the air above the altar, appearing like a magical fairy in the darkness. When she spotted Link quickly approaching, she dropped down to land on something that sparkled like diamonds before it suddenly flashed with blinding white light.

Grunting, Link stopped in his tracks and shut his eyes from the sudden brightness.

"It's here, Master! It's here!" Pipo sang merrily. "Right behind this big white blanket!"

_Blanket?_

The wolf blinked rapidly to adjust his sight, finding most of the chamber lit up by the Light Lacrima Pipo had activated from her touch. It was a crystal statue of the spirit's mother, carved into a majestic form with her haloed head raised skyward and her wings spread out as if preparing for flight. Perched on a tall podium upon the altar, Link could see why the falcon was perceived as the temple's holy 'Light God'.

Behind the podium was the 'blanket', a giant, white, gold trimmed drapery that covered the middle of the wall from ceiling to floor. Golden tassels hung from the bottom edge and in the centre was the famous mark of the falcon and sun in crimson thread. Words written in gold, black-outlined text surrounded the crest. Of what they spoke of, Link may never know since he could not read the written language in this land.

Panting with his tongue lolling out of his mouth, the wolf climbed onto the altar just as Alzack and Romeo stepped foot into the chamber. The pair soundly gasped when their eyes saw the crystal statue alive with magic.

"Oh, praise these Thirteen Gods, they actually do exist…" Alzack murmured in between breaths.

Romeo laughed at the man's bewildered reaction. "I told you," said the boy as he joined Link at the altar to gaze upon the shining statue, "The Light God is really guiding us. So… where is this secret room?"

Pipo flew back down to perch on Link's head and happily chanted, "Behind the blanket! Behind the blanket!"

To answer the young mage's question himself, the wolf crawled under the golden tassels to find a foot of space between the drapery and wall. His nose immediately picked up the fresh scent of someone's perfume, spicy with a hint of musk. Link could _taste_ the fragrance, which was a good indication that it wasn't too long ago that this mysterious person had passed through here.

It was undoubtedly the thief; there wasn't supposed to be anyone inside the temple at night let alone in a hidden sanctuary.

Invigorated by the discovery, it only took seconds before Link found a narrow doorway. Inside was a small, empty square room that smelled of melted wax and spicy perfume. Pipo's pendant shone upon the far wall, revealing a carved image that was surprisingly not of a falcon, but of a fox; it sat facing forward and had diagonal slits for eyes and instead of a sun, it was superimposed over a large flame, making its tail appear like actual fire.

On either side of the carving were five black iron fox heads positioned in staggered horizontal rows and dangling from their metal fangs were tarnished, silvery chains attached to small holders that contained old, red lumpy candles. The blackened wicks still smelled burnt; it was likely over an hour ago that they had been lit.

"This is the sealed door?" Link asked his spirit friend just as Romeo and Alzack made their way inside.

"A hidden room!" Romeo exclaimed, dark eyes scanning what little the room had to offer. Confusion crossed his face when he saw what was on the wall. "Is that a fox? Isn't the Light God supposed to be a falcon?"

Alzack raised an eyebrow. "I thought it was… Maybe…"

While the two mages went on to discuss the topic of different gods, Pipo cheerily answered Link's previous question, "Yes! Behind this door is Izazza's Sanctuary. Izazza is the Celestial Spirit of fire so you need fire to open it. Good thing one of your humans can use that element!"

"Our thief has passed through this door," the wolf replied, an angry growl in his voice. The trail of perfume ended right at the wall with the fox. He approached the closest candle that dangled one head higher than his current height. "These candles… The key is to light them in a specific order, I presume?"

The sparrow flew onto the nose of the same iron fox and peered down at the beast. "That's right! Just like with the Pipapo! Except these candles only need to be lit once and there are only ten of them, so it won't take as long or be as fun to activate the magic switch."

Link wanted to sigh at the bird's remark and ended up shaking his head at her old master's way of thinking. "Why did your master implement such complicating measures to seal a door?" he muttered under his breath.

"Oh, Master Otharo didn't place these magic seals; we spirits did!" the sparrow answered, having overheard him. "We did it mostly for fun, but it was also for keeping unwanted guests out. Although, that doesn't always work… Humans tend to figure things out when given enough time…"

That fact was true. The most difficult of problems could often be solved with patience, wit, and time. Unfortunately, Link was running out of two of those factors. Urgently, he asked, "Will I need Izazza to show me how to open the door?"

"No need, Master! Izazza is stuck in the Celestial Spirit World but I've watched him open the door a few times way back when we were all still together. I can open it! Let's see… I think it went like this…" The sparrow flitted to the farthest candle on the left side of the hidden door and chanted for him to come to it.

Nodding, Link then turned to Romeo who was busy tracing a finger along the etched lines on the wall out of fascination. The wolf circled the boy and, using the top of his head, started to push the mage.

"Whoa. What is it, Links?" asked Romeo as the wolf positioned him in front of the first unlit candle.

Link barked and used his nose to nudge the boy's arm that carried the magical flame towards the candle.

The young mage was quick to figure out what the beastly hero wanted him to do. Smiling at the wolf, he said with excitement, "Oh! I see. You want me to light this candle? Do they need to be lit in some kind of order to open this secret door?"

What a smart boy. Link nodded vigorously and received a wider grin in return.

The wolf followed the invisible sparrow's lead while the boy followed the wolf. Back and forth the three of them went and one by one, the red candles began to burn, filling the little room with warm flickering light. After the last candle was lit, the lines that formed the fox and flame flashed a bright orange. Alzack, who had been silently watching at the back, let out a quiet sound of surprise.

The fiery light in the fox's slanted eyes remained a second longer before the symbol turned back to stone gray. The whole temple seemed to tremble as the two halves of the square door slid apart to reveal a dark, unwelcoming hall.

Wafting from within the black abyss was the unpleasant aroma of stale, earthly air mixed with spicy perfume and mildew.

The thief was waiting beyond the doorway and knowing this made Link angrily snarl. He was riled at the thought; the fur on his back stood on end and his throat deeply rumbled as he eyed the shadows like a starving predator.

"This door won't close after you enter," said Pipo as she reunited with her master's head, not minding the wolf's dangerous mood. "As long as the candles burn, it will stay open. It can be opened on the other side too by lighting a candle switch."

"Good," the wolf grunted. Without wasting another moment, he dashed into the secret passageway, ignoring the humans' cries of protest and Pipo's squeal of joy.

The passageway was unlike the halls of the temple; the walls were dirty and spotted black with mold and the floor covered in dust. There were footprints leading to and fro, both fresh and old, and all belonged to the same person.

The path gently sloped downwards after a short while and it wasn't long until Link and Pipo entered what was supposed to be a sanctuary for a Celestial Spirit of fire. However, what they found instead was a warm chamber filled with large machines that hummed with electrical power and blinked with colorful lights in the darkness. They ranged in sizes and shapes, from stout and blocky, to tall and cylindrical, and all were constructed from metal.

"What are all these things?" Pipo exclaimed in awe. She flitted towards the closest machine to take a closer look at a panel of knobs and flashing white buttons. "These were never here before! They're so pretty to look at!"

"Pipo, stay with me," Link warned quietly as he prowled around the strange machines, trying to figure out where the thief could be hiding about. It was possible for the thief to have heard the sealed door open, giving the scoundrel plenty of time to hide somewhere. While Pipo hopped restlessly around his head to look at all the blinking lights, the wolf tuned his ears, hearing nothing but the strange murmur of the metal contraptions and the rapid whirring of fans inside them.

The room was oddly dark, making it seem like no one was here, but there was no hiding the truth from Link's nose.

Blue eyes flickered from one lit up machine to the next, curious and wary as to what they were all for. Link didn't pay too much attention to where he was walking that he ended up stumbling over a bundle of thick, heavy, crisscrossing black cords lying on the floor. They snaked between the machines, connecting one to the next in some sort of electrical network.

His ears pricked at a loud _beep_ coming from somewhere further in. He stiffened and turned his head, listening intently for any movement. A few rapid heartbeats later, he heard it again.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"It's coming from behind that metal thing with the red and green lights," Pipo pointed out, curious to find out what the noise was.

Link carefully made his way around and spotted something shining white from within a large glass case set atop a slightly raised platform that steadily pulsed with a deep purple light. Located in the center of the room, multiple, long cords were attached to the platform from all sides, connecting it to a number of surrounding machines. The beeping sound was coming from one of those metal contraptions that also had a glowing, magical, square display showing strange symbols and scrolling foreign text.

Link's attention didn't linger too long on the flashing display but was instead drawn to the light inside the glass case. He drew a sharp breath the instant he recognized the radiant object encased within.

"Master! There's your sword!" Pipo cried in excitement.

The wolf sprinted towards his holy blade and screeched to a halt before the solid pane of glass barring his way. He gazed upon the magnificent sword, seeing the blade unmarred from its journey from the sky and into the solid stone of the temple's altar. The shining sword was held up by an unseen force; levitating above the pulsing platform with its sharp tip pointed downward and its flat side facing Link, baring the emblem of the sacred Triforce.

Link wanted to cry in relief. The Master Sword was _here_ and not taken somewhere far away as he had feared. He raised his right paw to touch the glass that was in the way, wishing he could reach inside and grab the purple handle. It was so very close! He needed to figure out how to open the case or somehow break the glass.

"A mutt?" a man suddenly uttered in disdain, making Link turn sharply towards the speaker who reeked of spice.

Overwhelmed by the discovery of his lost sword, Link had momentarily forgotten that he was in the thief's lair. He saw nothing but the faint outline of the man who stood before one of his lit up machines.

"How did it get in here?" the man continued, speaking seemingly to himself at first, but then Link detected the presence of another being that had suddenly appeared as if summoned. "Get rid of it."

"Master! The shadows! They're moving!" Pipo shrieked in panic.

Indeed, the shadows were stirring beyond the boundary of the Master Sword's holy light. A giant, mysterious creature capable of manipulating the darkness slithered towards the wolf and spirit, its heavy body soundly dragging on the floor. It smelled like earthen clay as if it had emerged from deep beneath the ground.

It released a drawn, throaty hiss, its putrid, sour breath burning Link's nose.

Growling, the wolf bared his teeth in a vicious snarl, ears flat against his head and his body hunched, ready for battle. Staying in the holy light of his blade, he eyed what he believed to be the head region of the shadowed creature as it started to circle its target.

A pair of footsteps rushed towards Link's location, accompanied by warm firelight.

"There you are, Lin – ack!"

"Get back, Romeo!" Alzack shouted, yanking the boy away from the danger hiding in the darkness.

"Mages of Fairy Tail," the man spat quietly to himself before whispering the command, "Kill them first."

The creature hissed and quickly redirected its attention towards the two mages poised a short distance behind the wolf, both prepared for a fight. Alzack stood protectively in front, armed with twin, hand-sized, firing weapons drawn from their holsters while Romeo held blazing orange fireballs in both hands.

Link was faster than the slithering monster and managed to dash ahead and position himself before the mages. He didn't want to risk attacking what he couldn't see in fear of breaking his teeth on tough bony plating or hurting himself on spines. He barked and snarled at the approaching fiend and received a furious hiss in return.

"Links," Alzack began, his weapons clicking, "Is this the demon?"

"It must be it," said Romeo, a nervous quiver in his voice, "Look! My fire doesn't even shine through its weird shadow!"

It was true; the boy's bright burning flames did not penetrate the darkness shrouding the monster. It appeared like a giant, living mass of black mist with a pair of arm-like limbs.

Pipo chirped, "A demon! This must be the one Mom was talking about!"

When the monster was upon them, Alzack fired his weapons, producing an ear-deafening _bang-bang_ that made Link jump away in alarm. Golden beams of energy were launched from the silver barrels of the man's weapons, each one sounding like exploding bombs to the wolf's sensitive ears. The beams struck the darkness, but didn't appear to do any damage.

Alzack cursed. "What happened? Did it absorb my magic?!"

"Let me try!" said Romeo, stepping in front with a determined face. He flung both of his fireballs at the wall of black mist, but the magic was immediately swallowed by the darkness and soundly fizzled out.

Unharmed by their attacks, the demon raised one arm and swiped downwards at the wolf and mages. Link leapt to the side while Alzack and Romeo dodged in the opposite direction. With a loud _bam_ , the monster's hand slammed into the floor, its fingers impaling the stone underneath and blowing a wave of dust aside.

Pipo chirped and flapped frantically to stay on Link's head. "Master! Master! Don't forget Mom can help you!" she reminded, giving the wolf a little bite on the ear.

While the demon was busy freeing its hand, Link nodded. "Sing for me, Pipo, and I shall call for her aid at once."

"Yes, Master! Listen closely: _Pipo-pipo-peeta-po!_ "

The wolf breathed deep, raised his nose to the ceiling and sang along with the light spirit. His howling notes filled the chamber, drawing everyone's attention.

After the last note was sung, Link felt power surge from the silver key around his neck. Bright golden light flashed right above him, appearing as many glowing particles. The particles gathered to take on the form of the majestic falcon whose body shone as bright as the sun and whose voice was as beautiful as a maiden's. Singing the same melody, Pipaya, the Celestial Spirit of light, hovered in the air with her wings gently flapping and her long tail and head feathers flowing like silk ribbons in the wind.

Even though the falcon was not truly a deity, she was one in appearance and literally the sign of light and hope.

Pipo flew happy circles around her mother, tweeting in joy.

It only took one short second for the falcon to assess the situation. "Master Link, allow me to chase away this wicked darkness! _Shine!_ " Her body shone brighter, so bright that Link couldn't look at her without going blind. Even when he shut his eyes, he could still see her light behind his eyelids. He could _feel_ it too, warm and welcoming on his fur like the morning sun after a cold, miserable night.

There were sounds of surprise followed by startled yelps when the surrounding machines suddenly began to beep erratically, spark with electricity, and pop, zap, and spew acrid smoke.

"What?!" the thief roared and that was the moment Link opened his eyes to find out what was happening.

He was met with light coming from all directions. Every Light Lacrima mounted on the walls and hanging from the ceiling in black iron chandeliers were now imbued with Pipaya's power, revealing every corner in the chamber as well as the demon's true form.

A growl escaped Link's throat when his eyes fell on the monster hissing in the centre of the room. It was a giant, reptilian beast covered in smooth, glossy black scales mottled with dark gray and striped with crimson. The lower half of its body was that of a snake's; long and slender and coiled around itself, while the upper half was that of a lizard's with two muscular arms that ended with terrible clawed hands. Upon its reptilian head was a horned mask made of ancient stone that was a mossy-green and hid the creature's eyes, hence why it did not react when the room was lit. Its forked, black tongue flicked out of its fanged mouth a few times, tasting the air and sensing its targets.

"Master Link," Pipaya began, swooping down to land beside the wolf. Her gold eyes narrowed at the creature before them. "The great evil I had mentioned earlier stands behind this vile fiend."

"Is it the man?" Link questioned, watching the snake-beast carefully. The monstrosity was blocking his view of the thief so the man's identity still remained a secret.

"He is no man," the spirit replied with a shake of her head, "He is a wicked demon in disguise. I'm sorry. My power is not as strong as it used to be… My light cannot show his true face."

"Do not worry," the wolf assured the spirit, "Your light is helping us greatly. Evil can no longer hide in the shadows."

He flinched when Alzack started to fire his weapons, launching a barrage of fiery bullets at the reptilian monster. Each bullet exploded in hot, searing flames on impact, but did little to scratch the demon's tough scales.

Blue, red, and purple fireballs pelted the monster's chest soon after, but the serpent appeared more annoyed than hurt by Romeo's colourful flames. Magic was proving to be ineffective against the serpent-beast and Alzack and Romeo were quick to realize that fact.

Letting out a throaty snarl, the scaly demon shook off the mages' combined magic and lunged at them, swiping its claws at the anxious pair.

"Pipo! Stay with your mother!" Link commanded as he ran to help the mages.

"Yes, Master!" the sparrow chirped.

The wolf leapt at the monster's attacking arm and latched onto its elbow with his teeth. Link bit with all his might and, to his surprise, was able to sink his fangs through the demon's scales and into its flesh. He jerked his head side-to-side, savagely tearing muscles and tendons and making the monster cry out in pain. Hot, disgusting blood filled his mouth, but he refused to let go, even when he started to choke on it.

The creature thrashed its injured arm and eventually threw Link off, losing a fleshy chunk of its arm to the hero.

With a grunt, Link landed on his side and quickly rolled onto his feet, his fierce blue eyes glowering at the fiend whose blood was tainted with corruption. He spat away the awful meat and licked his bloodied teeth, recognizing the foul taste in his mouth. He now understood why Fairy Tail's magic was harmless against the demon; the creature was a _Twilit_ monster.

There was no mistaking it. Although the creatures corrupted by Twilight had different scents, they all had the same tasting blood; salty, bittersweet, and rotten. Link was repulsed by the taste of their blood the first time he was forced to fight Shadow Beasts as a wolf. Eventually, he had grown tolerant of it, having no choice but to kill the creatures with his fangs every time he was attacked in the realm of Twilight.

" _You're a beast now, so fight like one!"_ one particular Twilit imp had scolded him when he had trouble defeating his first Shadow Beast. _"You either kill them, or they kill you."_

" _Go for the throat,"_ she had told him one other time, giving him her trademarked one-fanged sneer, _"You'll kill them faster that way. You don't want to drag battles out too long, right?"_ Her sneer became solemn when she had added, _"Put these dumb monsters out of their misery."_

 _Go for the throat_. Those four words repeated in his head like a mantra.

Link eyed the demon's jugular like a hungry wild animal, snarling viciously to match the angry hisses coming out of the monster's mouth. He wasn't sure how a Twilit monster could exist in a temple that was deemed holy or why it obeyed the thief, but he knew for certain that he was the only one who could defeat it.

The Twilit beast ignored the harmless mages and sought only the wolf that dared to wound it. It raised its good arm and brought it down in hope of crushing the hero under its large palm.

Link easily dodged the slow attack by leaping to the side. The monster smashed one of the machines in the process, making pieces of metal fly and the thief cry out in horror. Link went in for the kill by jumping on top of one of the machines to gain enough height to leap at the monster's thick, exposed neck.

The moment his fangs snapped around scaly flesh, the giant serpent-beast screamed and twisted around, almost throwing Link off. Before the wolf could rip out the fiend's neck, he was suddenly struck down by what felt like a searing hot blade slashing into his right shoulder and side.

With a pained yelp, he felt himself soar through the air for a brief moment before his back slammed into an immovable wall.

"Master! Master!"

"Link! Hang in there!"

Stunned, disoriented, and sore all over, it took Link a little while to recognize Pipo and Pipaya's voices amongst the yelling and shouting that seemed to have erupted within the chamber. Lying on his side, he cracked one eye open and found the spirits looking down at him with worry.

Pipo dropped onto the wolf to stare right into his eye and shrieked at the top of her lungs, "Are you okay, Master?! Are you okay?!"

Link grimaced and let out a groan at the sheer volume of her voice. He shook the dizziness out of his head, accidentally throwing the sparrow off, and moved to stand. "I am fin–" he cut himself off when sharp, throbbing pain lanced through his right shoulder and side, forcing him to stay down and whimper. He didn't need to see to know he was bleeding; he could smell it.

"It was the man in white who hurt you!" shouted Pipo, showing a rare case of anger. "He shot holy energy at you!"

"Holy? Is he not a demon?" the wolf grunted. Baring his teeth in effort, he tried to ignore the pain to stand. It wasn't just his wounds giving him trouble, his whole body felt sore and bruised.

"He is," answered Pipaya, "However, he is somehow granted with holy magic. It might be the staff he wields."

A man in white who wielded a holy staff... if it was not Priest Jarron, it was the High Priest Owen. And Link was certain it was the latter since he already knew what Jarron smelled and sounded like.

Up on four feet, Link quickly looked around, finding that he had been thrown across the room to crash against one of the stone walls. Nonfunctioning, smoking machines blocked his view from the Twilit monster and the others, but he could hear everyone's voices echoing in the chamber, including Bisca's and Erza's, much to his surprise.

Did the sounds of battle lure them to the entrance to the secret sanctuary?

Warm blood trickled down Link's front right leg as he limped towards the voices with his spirits following closely in the air above him. He listened as the mages of Fairy Tail finally confronted the perpetrator responsible for taking his sword.

"… you figured it out even when I dropped that 'hint' on Zanna being the likely culprit. You Fairy scum shouldn't have come here. I don't care how you entered this temple or how you even found my laboratory, you foolish lot will not leave here alive!"

"You will pay for this," Bisca seethed, clearly on the verge of screaming at the thief in rage, "You lied to everyone, you deceived all these faithful people!"

The man guffawed, his mockery ringing loud within the chamber. "These people are idiots," the thief retorted in scorn, "They themselves follow a lie, they worship an _imaginary god_. This temple means _nothing_. There is no Light God – there is no _Chosen One_ and this sword did not fall from a place called heaven! The people here are gullible fools, Lady Bisca. They believe in fake gods and stupid prophecies.

"You had me afraid for a moment when that damn mutt of yours somehow did all of _this,_ but," he let out a smug laugh, "Good riddance it was no godly beast. Gods do not bleed after all."

" _You–_ " Bisca cursed at him. She would have attacked in a blind rage if Alzack hadn't interfered.

"Careful, Bisca! Careful!" her husband warned, soundly holding her back. "His monster is immune to our magic!"

"What you did was unforgivable!" she screamed at the thief. "If he is dead, _nothing_ will stop me from shooting that smile off your fat, ugly face!"

"Why are you doing this?" Erza demanded, calmer in manner, but her voice held a dangerous edge, "Why join this faith – why did you even become the High Priest if you do not believe in it? What is your reason for being here in the first place?"

The perpetrator soundly smirked and spoke with arrogant pride, "For years, I lived among these idiots to ensure there will be no obstacle in the future when the one True Lord returns to us. And that is _Lord Zeref!_ "

"Zeref?!" the mages exclaimed as one, each one expressing a different emotion towards that name.

Link didn't hear the rest of the conversation because Romeo suddenly appeared in front of him after he rounded a corner.

"Links! Thank the Light God you're still alive!" the boy whispered in relief, rushing towards the wolf. He frowned in concern when he saw Link's injuries. "Oh no… You're hurt bad. You should stay here and hide."

Link grunted to disagree and pressed on only to have Romeo block his path.

"Wait, boy! It's okay now. Erza's here. She can defeat that monster. She's _crazy_ strong – Links! Stop!"

The wolf tried to limp around the young mage but the boy stepped in front of him.

"Perhaps it's best to heed your human," suggested Pipaya, giving her master the same look of concern. "If there is a magical human as powerful as he says…"

"No," Link snapped, "That snake-fiend is a Twilit monster. Only I can defeat it." Not only that, he was enraged at the thief who called himself the High Priest; stealing the Master Sword, living in deceit, attempting to kill Link and then threatening to kill Bisca and her companions – there were good reasons for the wolf to sink his fangs into the wicked demon in disguise.

"Child, please move!" He barked and snarled at Romeo, making the boy gulp and immediately jump away in fright.

"But Links–"

Another angry bark silenced Romeo and kept him out of the way.

Link continued on towards the centre of the room. The light spirits circled above while Romeo trailed a safe distance behind. By then, the heated argument between the thief and Fairy Tail had turned into a battle between good and evil.

There was shouting, hissing, and explosive shots fired before the sound of blades clashing against solid scales joined the chaos. Metal screeched and stones were cracked and broken as the surrounding environment was caught in the fray.

Link broke into a painful trot and made it just in time to see the giant Twilit beast get thrown aside, its huge body crashing into rows of machines, breaking them apart and turning the room a mess. He spotted Erza soaring towards the fallen creature in a new, impressive suit of armour that was black and winged. She was armed with a double-edged blade that shimmered with magical power.

Snarling, the serpent-beast whipped its entire tail at the scarlet-haired warrioress who, in return, swung her silvery sword. Sparks flew as her blade noisily grinded against the monster's mottled scales. Unable to cut through, she was knocked back from the heavy blow.

The creature's tail continued to lash out, sweeping across the room and destroying everything in the way, including the glass and metal case that held the Master Sword.

Link watched with bated breath as his sacred weapon was tossed into the air in an incredible arc, spinning seemingly in slow motion alongside glistening shards of broken glass. The Master Sword banged off a machine, clattered on the floor and skidded to a final stop against a pile of crumpled metal, only a short distance away from Link.

Blue eyes were wide and transfixed on the legendary blade softly glowing on the floor. Link was mesmerized by its light, his mind screaming at him, " _The sword is free! Grab it!"_

He took a quick glance at the ongoing battle, seeing Erza busy tangling with the serpent-beast that refused to stay down, and Alzack and Bisca exchanging magical projectiles with a plump, bearded man wielding a shining staff and dressed in a flowing white mantle and robe.

None of them noticed the Master Sword or the wolf sprinting towards it.

Link could barely breathe when he stepped up to the Master Sword, his heart pounding rapidly in his chest. Holding his breath, he touched the purple hilt with his front left paw and immediately felt the effect of his curse lift away. Transforming from beast to man was not painful, but the most uncomfortable sensation he had ever felt. Starting with his front left toes and spreading up his leg and throughout the rest of his body, it was like his fur was being peeled away by tingling, prickling needles to expose the naked skin beneath.

He gasped when the transformation was complete and opened his eyes to see his gloved _hands_ instead of furry paws. Fingers – oh blessed, dexterous fingers that Link had dearly missed – clenched and unclenched before he grasped the metal hilt of the Master Sword. Slowly, he rose onto his two legs, standing upright and tall. After being a wolf for so long, it felt strange to be a Hylian again, as if he was in a different body that was not entirely his own. All his senses have changed, especially his sense of smell; no longer could he recognize every different odour present in the chamber or detect where they were coming from. Colours were more vibrant with Hylian eyes and his hearing, although still as sharp as a wolf's, could not be directed for locating the origin of sounds with pin-point accuracy.

Despite the differences, Link couldn't be happier to be his true self. Wearing an uncontrollably joyous smile on his face, he took a deep breath to fill his lungs with the stale, smoky air of the sanctuary for the first time as a man.

He looked himself over, seeing Pipaya's silver key still hanging around his neck and his green tunic and chain mail in the same dirty condition he had last worn them. With his free hand, he double-checked to make sure his leather sword and quiver sashes were buckled tight across his chest and then triple-checked to make sure his rupee and equipment pouches were still around his waist. Upon his back, he could feel the familiar weights of his Hylian Shield, his quiver full of arrows, and his empty sheath. With the Master Sword in his hand, nothing was missing anymore.

There was happy twittering right in his left ear. He turned his head to find Pipo bouncing on his shoulder, gazing at him in wild astonishment. Pipaya was hovering nearby, her eyes gleaming with a smile. She trilled and sang, but sadly, Link could no longer understand what his spirits were saying.

He spoke quietly to them, his own voice sounding strange to his own ears; "Both of you, stay back. I will take care of this."

Chirping, Pipo nodded and joined her mother in the air.

"L-Links?" someone squeaked from behind the swordsman.

The hero glanced over his shoulder and found Romeo gawking with eyes so wide, Link was afraid they would pop out of their sockets. The boy's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but no sound came out. Since their arrival to this temple, the young mage was bewildered by every new thing Link had done, but this level of surprise, which had Romeo stunned and speechless, was beyond all those instances combined together.

Link gave the boy a confident smirk before turning his focus on the Twilit beast, eyes narrowing. The monster's back was facing him for it was busy swatting at an evasive Erza as if she was an annoying insect. She was now dressed in a suit of pink armour decorated with wing-like ornaments and a flowing, purplish cape. She used twin blades instead of one, slashing and moving with amazing speed and grace. But even with her new weapons equipped, the serpent-beast was unharmed by her attacks.

Link was driven to help. He stumbled after his first step due to the sudden pain coming from his forgotten injuries. His right shoulder and side were throbbing again, but that didn't stop him. Jaw clenched and hand taut around the hilt of his blade, Link steeled against the pain and charged forward.

Running on two legs was a lot slower than he remembered, but nevertheless, he reached the Twilit beast in a short number of strides. The hissing monster was raking its claws along the floor, tearing the stones where Erza once stood a second ago, too occupied with the mage to notice the hero's approach.

Link hopped onto the reptile's coiled tail for a boost before leaping high enough to plunge the Master Sword hilt-deep into its back, right between its shoulder blades. The sword pierced through tough scales, tissues, and bones like a hot knife through butter. The Twilit beast reared back from the pain, its furious hisses suddenly cut short. It attempted to reach for Link, to pry away the source of its agony, but its strength gave out when its claws were only a foot away from the hero. Turning completely limp, the monster fell forward and its huge upper body hit the floor with a loud, trembling _thud_ with Link kneeled on top.

Rising, the swordsman slid his sword free from the lifeless creature whose body began to disintegrate into floating black particles of Twilight that disappeared into nothingness shortly after. He hopped off moments before the dead beast completely vanished where it left behind only the damage it caused.

Link didn't notice the silence that had fallen in the chamber until the man in white demanded furiously, "Wh-Who are you?!"

Link looked up to find everyone staring at him, each person wearing a different expression. Erza was wary, still poised in a fighting stance, while Alzack appeared confused, brow furrowed and one eyebrow raised. Bisca, on the other hand… when Link's eyes finally met hers, she instantly recognized him. Her reaction was the same as Romeo's; her violet eyes grew so wide and her lower jaw fell to the floor in utter shock. She dropped her large, two-handed firing weapon and brought a trembling hand to cover her gaping mouth as she slowly shook her head in disbelief, never blinking.

Link gave her a grateful smile and a meaningful nod of his head before shooting a hateful glare at the demon impersonating a fat priest.

The man flinched from the hero's fierce gaze. "Who are you?!" he demanded again, pointing the crystal end of his staff at the swordsman. His pudgy face was flushed with anger and yet his eyes quivered with unease.

The hero slashed his sword to the side just as he fully turned to face the priest, soundly cutting the air. He brought the Master Sword before him and held the point skyward in both hands, baring the sacred emblem of the Triforce for his foe to see. "I am the one destined to wield this legendary blade," he answered valiantly, seeing fear flash in the man's eyes. "And I am the one to bring you down, demon!"

In one fluid motion, Link lowered his Master Sword by his side and lunged at the fiend.

The fear that overcame the priest only lasted half a second. Seething in rage, he swung his staff downwards and roared, "You are no god! _Divine Scythe!_ " The crystal on the top of the staff flashed with light as it unleashed a wave of energy that was white and pure and in the shape of a crescent blade. The magic soundly cut through the air towards the rushing Hylian.

Link gripped the Master Sword's hilt with both hands and slashed at the magical blade of holy energy. There was barely a sound when the swordsman's sacred weapon easily cleaved through and dissipated the priest's magical attack.

"What?!" The man was terrified at what Link had done and it showed on his pudgy, bearded face. He stumbled backwards as the hero continued to rapidly close the distance between them. In a panic, he screamed, "No! Imp! _Stop him!_ "

His shadow suddenly came to life. It shot out from beneath the priest and instantly materialized into its own form right in front of Link, becoming a small, shadowed, humanoid being that hovered in midair.

The hero froze in his tracks when he saw a familiar face staring back at him with one vacant red eye that was not hidden under the stone, horned helm of an old relic.

"Midna?" Link whispered in disbelief, his enthusiasm gone in a single breath.

The Twilit Imp didn't respond to him; she only stared forward, focusing on nothing, as if caught in a trance. An endless number of questions raced through Link's head, but none would form on his lips. He didn't realize he had dropped his guard until someone screamed at him to look out for something.

He was too slow to react and could only watch with gut-wrenching dread as Midna threw a large orb of black, twisting energy at him with her extendable, arm-like hair. The energy struck him square in the chest and exploded like a bomb. It was like getting hit by a solid, moving wall rather than a hot, fiery blast, but still equally as painful.

Ears ringing and mouth tasting like copper, he felt his body fly far and fast through the air. He couldn't remember the landing or the number of voices crying out his name; the only thing he could remember, before losing consciousness, was the pang in his heart from being betrayed by his dear friend…


	8. The Light-eater

Unlike the rest of her team, Bisca was in awe at the sudden appearance of the young man clothed in green. He stood fearlessly within the silent chamber, wielding a sword that shone with a mystical holy light, looking like a hero out of a legendary tale. Capable of slaying the very same monster Erza couldn't keep down, he was a skilled swordsman who no doubt possessed great power.

For a fleeting moment, Bisca was afraid he could be another powerful foe. However, when his eyes found hers, she instantly _knew_ who he was. There was no mistaking those sky-blue eyes that always looked at her with fondness and gratitude.

The young man was no stranger, but the wolf she had loved and cared for. Her eyes had likely grown thrice as wide the second she realized the truth. Overwhelmed with shock, she had forgotten about her assault rifle and accidentally dropped it to hide her gaping mouth with an unsteady hand.

She was stunned speechless and could only stare, her head slowly shaking in disbelief. Somehow Links had transformed into this youthful warrior with golden hair. He gave her a smile that defined his strong, bold features. After a small, confident nod of his head, he sharply turned his attention towards the fat man named Owen and within that instant, those pretty blue eyes suddenly turned fierce, reflecting the beast within.

It was as if Bisca had fallen into a trance as she silently watched the following confrontation between the High Priest and Links. Owen pointed his crystal staff at the other, his chubby face red and furious, and yet there was a hint of fear present in his unsteady glower. Links faced the follower of evil, taking on a valiant stance with his blessed sword held before him. The light from the magnificent sword brightened Links' blue eyes, making him seem inhuman; almost god-like.

Bisca, once again, experienced another wave of shock when she recognized the symbol etched upon the blade's surface. Four small triangles forming one set within an octagon…

_That's… the Divine Blade From Heaven!_

Links did not fall from an island in the sky; he fell from the realm of _gods!_

"I am the one destined to wield this legendary blade…" he said, his voice so strong and brave that it seemed to resonate within the chamber.

Bisca's eyes couldn't go any wider. She couldn't breathe at this point and started hyperventilating.

 _Owen's wrong. The Thirteen Gods are real!_ And standing before her was a holy warrior chosen by the God of Light.

She didn't notice Alzack standing right beside her until he gripped her by the shoulder. He glanced at her sideways, his brow furrowed with worry. "What's wrong, Bis?" he asked, "You know that guy?"

"H-He's…" was all Bisca managed to stutter before Links charged at Owen.

Both mages watched, amazed and impressed at how easily the swordsman slashed through the priest's magical attack, dispelling it completely. Bisca felt a smile tug on her lips and her breathing start to calm.

Links had the power to defeat Owen; a mighty god versus the fool who chose the path of darkness.

The terror on the fat man's face was genuine and seeing it made Bisca grin. She knew he stood no chance against Links!

But then the High Priest cried for aid and summoned a shadowy imp-like creature with a pair of horns. It hovered in midair in front of Owen, its one visible eye shining a dull red and looking straight ahead in a blank stare. It was tiny compared to the giant snake monster and yet its appearance made Links suddenly freeze in his tracks.

_Why did he stop?!_

From where Bisca stood, she couldn't see the young man's face, but she could tell his will to fight was lost. No longer did he hold his sacred sword ready by his side, but lowered with the sharp tip nearly brushing the ground. He did not move or flinch, even when the imp grew a large, flexible arm from the back of its head and began to gather some sort of black energy within its palm. It was a strange, _dark,_ unnerving power, something Bisca had never seen or felt before. It brought goosebumps on her arms and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

"Look out!" she cried.

But her warning went unheard. The imp threw its energy ball at the swordsman and hit him dead-on. The ball burst into a massive orb of black outlined in pale gold and marked with greenish-blue lines and strange symbols. It produced an ear-deafening explosion that destroyed the floor and rattled the whole temple.

Alzack wrapped his arms around Bisca, blocking her view and shielding her from the flying debris. He grunted when something pelted his back, but he didn't fall. Clouds of dust shrouded them, making them cough and wheeze. Bisca covered her mouth and nose with one hand and waved the dust away with the other. Once things had settled and Alzack finally let her go, she gasped in horror at the sight of the huge, deep crater where Links once stood. Floating silently beside it was the shadow imp, staring impassively ahead at nothing in spite of the destruction it caused.

"No! _Links!_ " Bisca screamed.

"What? That was _Links?!_ " Alzack exclaimed, gaping at her in disbelief. She ignored him while her eyes swept across the room, frantically searching for both sword and wielder. Her heart wrenched when she found neither.

Laughter thundered throughout the chamber, coming from the gullet of the loathsome High Priest. "Damn the God of Light and its Chosen!" he bellowed, his voice high with glee. _"_ And damn the Thirteen Gods and their Children! Bahahahahaha!"

The sound of his grating laugh combined with his words brought Bisca's blood to a furious boil. She pushed past her husband and equipped her sniper rifle, her violet eyes blazing at the ugly, overweight, and pathetic excuse of a man.

The sharpshooter didn't hesitate. It took only a second to aim and a split second to pull the trigger. There was no _Divine Blessing_ spell to divert her shots this time. Her killing bullet hit its mark, piercing into Owen's thick skull right between his eyes, instantly putting an end to his awful laughter. His head snapped back from the impact and he started to teeter backwards. Bisca expected his heavy body to crash with a satisfying thud, but instead, he somehow stayed precariously on his feet.

His laughter returned, abruptly cutting into the still silence that had briefly fallen over the chamber. Slower, deeper, and reverberating, his booming voice sent nervous chills down Bisca's spine. He swung forward and straightened in his posture, which should have been impossible with that bullet hole in his forehead. Blood slowly trickled down his nose and cheeks, a shade of red so dark it looked nearly black. "Was that supposed to hurt, Lady Bisca?" he mocked, his pudgy lips twisting into a fiendish sneer. His eyes snapped open, no longer a dark brown and human, but crimson and cat-like with the sclera now all black. They narrowed at Bisca, flashing bright with murderous intent.

The sharpshooter flinched, feeling a twinge of fear.

"So it's true, you really are a _demon_ ," Erza snarled, soundly cutting the air with her sword.

_A demon?!_

Bisca gulped and broke into a cold sweat. Her hands had gone cold and clammy and yet she dared to keep her aim on the demon disguised as a man, the crosshairs locked on his smug, bloody face. Her trigger finger was itching to pull, however she knew it was useless to fire. Never had she encountered a demon before and never had she dared to face one. They were a whole other level compared to the criminals, monsters, and wild, ferocious beasts she had dealt with all her life. Demons were intelligent, powerful, terrifying, and downright evil. This was no longer just a simple A Rank mission, but an S Rank and Bisca couldn't be any more grateful to have Erza on her team.

Unlike the sharpshooter, the scarlet-haired warrioress stood unfazed, still dressed in her pink Fairy Armour. She was glaring at the vile fiend, looking ready to kill with her twin blades. An expert in battling demons, she was perhaps the only one on the team who could fight Owen, especially with Links out of the picture.

"A demon," the priest echoed, reaching up to touch the hole in his head. His fingers came back red and glistening. He slowly licked the blood off and formed a twisted smile, showing his set of perfectly white teeth that all seemed sharper than normal. "The truth has been exposed," he mused, his attention flickering between each mage before finally settling on Bisca's disgusted face. "You have awakened the darkness inside me, my dear Bisca, and the darkness is _angry_."

Erza growled. "I don't know how you are able to wield such holy magic, but your game ends here!"

"Oh, I am playing no mere game. I am a part of a grander scheme: the revival of our true Lord and the downfall of the human race." Owen held his staff before him, one hand caressing the shining egg on top while his red eyes never left Bisca's. "My mission is to eliminate all who wish to hinder our plan. You've heard the old legend of this temple, I'm sure. Jarron had likely rambled on about it. It spoke of a _Chosen One_ _of Light_ who would appear when the forces of evil began to rise. Well, I have nothing more to worry about. That legend will remain a legend because you have witnessed it yourself; that pathetic Chosen One is dead!"

He pointed the crystal end of his staff towards Bisca and Alzack, his eyes wide with madness. "How unfortunate that you and your friends will never see the day of my Lord's return, Lady Bisca! Say farewell to this world for there are no gods to protect you here! Imp! _Kill_ _them!_ "

The little black creature that had not moved since the blast finally reacted to Owen's command. It lazily turned to face the Fairy Tail couple, its dull stare looking beyond where they stood. The extra arm behind its head was already raised above its horns, gathering dark energy within its large palm.

Bisca quickly shifted her aim towards the imp and fired an exploding bullet. Instead of hurting or interrupting the creature's attack, her shot went right _through_ it as if it truly was a shadow. Her bullet ended up blowing apart a pile of rubble and nothing more.

Erza was next to try. Wearing her Lightning Empress Armour, she was a white and scarlet blur, moving as fast as the lightning she wielded. She was upon the imp in half a second, her lance charged with crackling electricity. With a furious yell, she thrust her weapon at the monster, shooting brilliant arcs of lightning out of the split-open tip. But just like with Bisca's bullet, Erza's attack harmlessly passed through the phantom creature, resulting in the lightning to scorch and shatter the ground and broken machines behind it.

Over the noise, Bisca heard Erza's startled "What?!" before the imp threw its black energy straight at Titania. With no time to dodge, the warrioress attempted to slash the energy with her lance only to have it explode the instant her blade connected, catching both her and the imp in the blast.

Another explosion rocked the temple. The dark energy destroyed everything it touched, blasting a new hole in the floor and throwing debris in all directions.

Alzack moved quickly to act as Bisca's shield once again. He took the brunt of the impact when something heavy knocked them both down.

Bisca landed on her back with her husband on top, the wind knocked out of her and her rifle and hat lost. Her hat and gun were the least of her worries. She choked on dust before she could ask, "A-Al, are you all right?"

Alzack groaned and started to push himself off. "Besides a concussion and sore back, I think I'll live. Oh…" He swore out loud, prompting Bisca to sit up and follow his gaze one heartbeat later.

She peered through the settling dust and found no sign of Erza. Only a crater remained. Panic took over. "Erza… Even Erza was…" _Killed_ , she was afraid to say. She couldn't believe it. Erza was the toughest, most indestructible person Bisca had known. There was no way Titania could be defeated, and yet… the fearless warrioress was nowhere to be seen.

First Links and now Erza… The shadow creature was too strong and untouchable. Where it had gone, Bisca didn't know. Maybe it killed itself in its own attack. She could only hope. Her thoughts were interrupted by the demon priest's very obnoxious laugh.

There was no time to be afraid; fear turned into rage. "None of us can touch that shadow imp," she growled. "Not even Erza. We have to take out Owen first!"

"I was just thinking the same thing," was her husband's response. While rolling onto his feet, he equipped his special pair of magnums, both shiny and gold with black leather grips.

Bisca opted to use her heavy, hand-held, six-barreled gatling gun. With two extra ammo belts strapped over her shoulders and another belt feeding into the gun, she was ready to go all out. "Ready, Al?" she asked, her violet eyes locked on their target who had yet to care about them.

Standing beside her, Alzack cocked both of his guns. "I'm locked and loaded. Ready when you are, dear."

Together, they raised their magic power, surrounding themselves in a vibrant blue aura. They fused their magic energies to become one in mind and heart, a feat accomplished after years of love and practice. A pale blue casting circle appeared beneath their feet and the barrels of their weapons began to shine white with imbued power, signifying an increase in firing power and an infinite supply of ammo.

"Let him have it!" Bisca shouted.

And they both pulled their triggers.

" _Unison Raid: Endless Triple-Bullet Barrage!_ "

The chamber erupted with rapid gunfire. The demon never noticed the couple's combined attack until it was far too late. Bisca was pleased to wipe that stupid smile off his face with a deadly spray of magic bullets. Drilling, piercing, and explosive: these three types of bullets pelted the priest's plump body in endless succession, ripping, tearing, exploding, and burning all at once.

Thick black smoke from the explosive shots quickly obscured the mages' view on their target, but that didn't stop their rain of hurt. They continued to unload their infinite clips at the exact spot where the demon last stood, shooting to kill.

Although the spell lasted a good few minutes, it wasn't long enough to Bisca, not when she wanted to keep pumping the wretched demon full of magic ammunition. She felt dissatisfied when the magic circle faded and their guns returned to normal. She kept her finger on the trigger a little longer, going through half her ammo belt, before releasing it. She lowered her gun with the barrels still smoking hot and spinning. Piles of bullet casings surrounded them, glinting like golden coins under the Lacrima.

The green-haired mage held her breath, her eyes never leaving the veil of black smoke ahead of her. She was so focused that she barely noticed her arms shaking from the gatling's weight and heavy recoil. She couldn't hear anything over the ringing in her ears except the rapid beating of her anxious heart.

Alzack suddenly grabbed her arm and yelled, "Behind us!"

That was when Bisca sensed the familiar dark presence by the goosebumps running up her arms. She whipped her head around and her heart skipped a beat at the sight of the imp hovering a few feet away, its dull red eye staring through them. Its head-arm was already raised and starting to gather its fearsome power within its palm.

In haste, Bisca sent her gatling and extra ammo back to her personal storage dimension and allowed her husband to pull her away. They ran in the opposite direction, desperately trying to avoid the phantom's attack. Bisca tripped and fell over something sharp and metal, scraping her bare legs open. Alzack quickly helped her back to her feet and glanced backwards. The fear in his expression spoke of the terror coming their way.

Grim determination flashed across his face. He easily lifted Bisca off her feet with strength she never knew he had and dove forward, leaping an impressive distance.

Bisca shut her eyes and clung to her husband right when the imp's attack exploded the ground right where they last stood a second ago. They were thrown through the air by the ear-shattering blast. Within that one second they were airborne, Alzack somehow managed to twist his body in midair to cushion Bisca from the jarring impact against what felt like a wall.

Next thing she knew, she was lying dazed and winded on the floor with Alzack prone on top, his head right below her chin. He was limp and unmoving. "Al…" she whispered, giving him a little shake. He didn't respond and it made her worry. "Al! Please, get up!"

There was an audible moan and nothing else.

She breathed a quick sigh of relief. He was still alive and only knocked unconscious. She freed her arms and braced the back of his head, only to frown when she felt warm blood in his hair. He had protected her yet again out of instinct and devotion. There was no man she could love more.

She kissed the top of his head and whispered her thanks before carefully rolling him off and laying him on his back. It was her turn to keep him safe.

Bisca ignored every new bruise and cut on her body and climbed to her feet. Black smoke shrouded her view and she realized where she landed. She armed herself with another assault rifle, this one packing more firepower compared to the one she had dropped somewhere in the chamber.

Something stirred within the thinning smoke, making the sharpshooter stiffen and point her weapon directly at it. She saw the egg-shaped jewel of the High Priest's holy staff shining through the haze and it was held high and _moving_. Next to follow were the pair of large, inhuman eyes that burned bright red and angry and they immediately narrowed at the only mage of Fairy Tail standing nearby.

"Oh, Lady Bisca… how you've _ruined_ me…" snarled the demon whom refused to die, his voice now a deep, throaty growl. The smoke finally dissipated to reveal the fiend's true form. 'Ugly' didn't even begin to describe his transformation. He was hideous; grotesque; an _abomination_. He was a manifestation of a twisted nightmare.

He towered before the lone woman like a giant, standing five times as tall as the other on thick stumpy legs. He had a head and face like a toad with a short, wide snout, blubbery lips, and round, bulbous eyes. His flabby skin was a sickly grayish-black and covered in disgusting warts. Rows of sharp teeth filled his huge, toady mouth and they were all bared at Bisca in wide, terrifying snarl. He was fat as a man and fatter as a demon bearing a huge, rounded, sagging belly and many, jiggling rolls beneath his jowl that swallowed his neck. An extra set of arms sprouted from his back, thin as sticks with long, slender, bony fingers that curled around the sacred staff. His other two arms were massive and strong, ending in chubby clawed fingers.

Worst of all, there were no signs of any damage done to him from Bisca's and Alzack's Unison Raid, only the destruction of his robe. Scraps of torn, burnt cloth clung to parts of his body and his glowing pendant lay forgotten on the floor.

 _Evil_ radiated from his being, no longer concealed under a disguise. Cold, unforgiving, powerful, and malicious… Bisca stood frozen, suddenly stricken with newfound fear that shattered the last of her courage and vanquished her will to fight. She could only gape in horror, her body refusing to move.

"You tore up my human flesh," the demon continued, taking one heavy step forward. Stone and metal crunched beneath his weight and every flab on his body wobbled like jelly. "I had worn the skin of that man for over twenty years after I killed and devoured his delicious soul. What a mess you've made, my dear. Such an impudent lot you Fairies are, ruining my work and now _this_. I have no other choice now, I have to kill them all, every damn worshipping fool of this wretched rock pile before I can return to Tartaros.

"Are you pleased in knowing what you've done, Lady Bisca? Their deaths will be yours to blame. None shall see the morning sun. Not even _you_." He approached her slowly, each pounding step sending a miniature quake throughout the chamber. He swung his staff in a circle above his head and instantly absorbed the magic from every Light Lacrima in the chamber into his jewel, casting the room in shadows. The egg shone as bright as the sun for a brief moment before the hideous demon began to _suck_ the light into his gaping mouth like a living vacuum. The life of the crystal faded to black after the last of its energy was drained, bringing complete darkness to fall. There was a loud smacking of wet lips as the demon savoured his meal. Only his eyes remained visible, and they continued to draw closer to the lone mage with each pounding step.

It was more terrifying being surrounded by darkness. Bisca was uncontrollably shaking. A part of her mind was screaming at her to run the other way, but her feet remained glued to the floor. The other part was yelling at her to fight or else she would die. Alzack, Romeo, the people of the temple… with Links and Erza gone, she was the only one left to stand in the demon's way.

The demon stopped before the sharpshooter, so close she started to suffocate from his evil aura.

_Fight, damn it! FIGHT!_

If she died here, she would never see her daughter again.

She screamed more in terror than in anger and pulled the trigger. It was useless. Her rifle was smacked painfully out of her hands and sent clattering somewhere far away. Huge icy fingers grabbed her and lifted her off the ground with ease. Giant red eyes filled her vision as the demon held her up to his face.

Perhaps she should be glad there was no light; she didn't have to see his hideous mug up close and personal. She could smell him though, and he reeked of smoke and spicy cologne. With her arms pinned within his pudgy fist, she could only kick uselessly at the air and wriggle her head side-to-side.

He could crush her into a bloody pulp if he wanted to, but instead he chose to snicker at her futile attempt to break free. Flesh as cold as a dead corpse gently stroked the side of Bisca's cheek, making her skin crawl. She whipped her head away, however there was no escaping the demon's repulsive touch.

"My, what beautiful skin you have," he said, a sneer evident in his harsh voice. "So soft and smooth and flawless. I _want_ it. Since you ruined my old skin, I shall now wear yours. I will live on as you, as a mage of Fairy Tail. I will become Lady Bisca. Don't cry, my dear. Don't cry."

Bisca was so terrified by the demon's words that she didn't realize she was crying. He was going to steal her life and take her family and friends.

"No no no…" she managed to whimper as she squirmed and shook her head in a wild panic in his unyielding grip.

"There is no Light to guide you this time. Now hold still, my dear. I don't want to damage that pretty face of yours."

It felt like a knife made of ice was stabbed deep into Bisca's right temple, sending chills and pain throughout her body. She screamed and kicked wildly, hoping to hit her torturer, but to no avail. The knife slowly cut down and she screamed even louder, her throat raw and hoarse. It was so excruciating she wanted to beg the demon to stop, but only sobs escaped her lips.

She prayed for someone to help her – even the Thirteen Gods – when the pain became too much to bear.

Everything turned cold and numb when her consciousness slipped away. She thought she heard a wolf howling in the distance, its cry echoing all around her. It summoned the golden sun, bringing light and warmth to the world.

Bisca smiled weakly towards heavens before everything went black.

* * *

A loud explosion combined with someone splashing cool water over his face made him jerk awake. He sputtered and tried to get up out of battle instinct, but the sudden ache in his chest prevented him from rising very far. Groaning, he rolled onto his side and wiped the water off his face with the back of his hand before he cracked open his eyes. He was greeted by bright light and Romeo's wide-eyed stare.

"Links!" the boy breathed in relief. He was holding his water bottle, which explained where the water came from. He suddenly looked guilty and nervously hid his bottle behind his back and quickly bowed really low, nearly smacking his forehead on the floor. "I'm really sorry for getting you wet! You wouldn't wake up and… Well… Uh… Are you okay?"

"I think so…" Link grunted in response as he carefully moved into a sitting position. A golden sparrow landed on his shoulder and chirped wildly in his ear before nuzzling against his neck, her body warm and soft. He reached up and gently stroked Pipo's tiny head with a finger to assure her he was fine. Pipaya was hovering above like a guardian deity, silently keeping her keen eyes on him.

Link looked around, seeing a wall nearby that was cracked and slightly caved in and broken machines scattered about. "What happened?" he asked Romeo. His chest was bruised and aching, feeling as if he had gotten punched squarely by a Goron. A few ribs were likely cracked. And his head… When he touched the back of it, he found a swollen, tender bump. He had a good feeling that he was the one who made the dent in the wall. The last thing he remembered he was facing off against the fat priest who wielded a holy staff.

The young mage straightened and stared at the swordsman in shock for some reason. "You don't remember? There was a… a shadow… goblin thing. The High Priest summoned it to stop you. And it did! It somehow paralyzed you and then it threw this weird black energy bomb that blasted you across the room!"

"Shadow goblin?" Link closed his eyes and tried to remember. _Midna_ appeared in his memory, a shadow who rose from the ground to hover before him, her one red eye unfocused and staring through him. She did not paralyze him, it was her sudden appearance that caught him off guard; he did not expect to find her here as an enemy. His heart wrenched and he touched the pain his chest, the feeling of betrayal returning. Deep down, he knew she did not attack him willingly. In fact, she would _never_ listen to another person's command. She was somehow being controlled by the demon and knowing this made him furious.

"It got Erza too," Romeo continued, shaking his head in utter disbelief. "She couldn't land a hit on it – no one could! And it probably got Bisca or Alzack in that last explosion I just heard!" He suddenly prostrated before the hero again. "Please, Links! You have to help us! You're the Chosen One of Light, aren't you? You can defeat that shadow goblin and the mad priest like you did with that snake monster! Please! I'm sorry I called you 'boy' all those times… I didn't mean to disrespect–"

"Romeo," Link grabbed the young mage by the shoulder and made him rise, meeting the child's pleading gaze with a kind expression. "Treat me as you would a friend. There is no need to ask and no need to apologize for anything. I already know what I must do." Pipaya twittered shrilly. A warning. He turned his head towards the rising evil he could sense within the chamber, beyond the piles of broken, twisted metal. "My sword, where is it?"

Romeo shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't see where it flew. I'm sorry."

Link gave the boy an assuring squeeze on the shoulder. As long as the Master Sword was not taken, he wasn't too worried. "Stay here. I will search for it."

"Wait!" Romeo grabbed the sleeve of Link's tunic just as he got to one knee. "You dropped this." Within an instant, something magically materialized within the boy's right hand and he handed it to the swordsman.

Link eyed the object closely out of confusion, having never seen it before. It was a solid bracelet made of the blackest metal he had ever seen. No light reflected across its smooth surface, making seem like a solid form of shadow. There was a familiar dark power emanating from it; the power of _Twilight_. As he ran his fingers over it, he finally realized what it was when he felt the runes etched in the metal.

It was Bisca's tracking bracelet he had worn as a wolf. It had unknowingly fallen off when he changed back to normal but why was it now covered in Twilight? One theory came to mind and he wanted to test it.

Cautiously, he clasped the bracelet on his right wrist and immediately saw the effect of the curse. Flakes of Twilight spread from the bracelet to his fingertips, up his arm and over his entire body, covering him in a suffocating darkness. His skin grew uncomfortably hot and itchy as it sprouted fur and his body felt really awkward as parts contorted, stretched, and shrunk as he transformed from man to beast.

When his transformation was complete, the first thing he noticed were the different scents his sensitive nose picked up upon his first breath. He could smell Romeo, his spirits, the burnt metal from the machines, the reek of fresh smoke and blood – _his_ blood. He had forgotten about the bleeding injuries on his right side and shoulder.

Romeo gasped in surprise. "Whoa! What was that black stuff? It changed you back into a wolf!"

Link looked at the gleaming gold bracelet around his front right foot. As he had surmised, without Midna around to collect the Twilight repelled from his body, the curse had instead somehow gotten absorbed into Bisca's golden bracelet. Perhaps the magical properties of the accessory attracted the dark energy towards it like a magnet. If this was the case, then he would be able to transform into a wolf without Midna's help.

Pipo was most ecstatic at the return of Link's beastly form. She landed on top of his furry head and hopped up and down while happily chirping, "Master! Master! I'm glad you can turn back into a beast! It's much easier to talk to you this way!"

Link winced at her loud voice. "Please mind the bump on my head. I hope I did not make you worry," he replied, glancing up at his spirit companions.

"That little shadow monster got you good! We thought you were done for!"

"That little shadow monster… She is my friend and I must save her from that demon."

"What?! Your _friend?!_ "

Link winced again.

Pipaya fluttered down to the wolf's eye level, ignoring her daughter's outburst. "Master Link, do you sense it? The demon is finally showing his true form after your companions tried to attack him!"

He nodded and started to growl at the evil presence in the chamber. It was strong and more noticeable than before, bleeding with malicious intent. Every hair on his body stood on end.

"Yes, I can feel it," he replied. And he could hear it too. Heavy, stomping footsteps that sent tremors throughout the chamber and the deep, growly rasp of its voice. The demon was confronting whoever was still capable of battle. Whether it was Alzack, Bisca, Erza, or all three, Link wished to aid them.

He was about to ask the falcon about his sword when the room suddenly turned dark. The light from every crystal disappeared as if someone had turned them off with a switch. Thanks to Pipaya's glowing body, he wasn't completely blinded by darkness.

"Wh-What just happened?!" Romeo squealed in a panic. He jumped to his feet and quickly engulfed his hands in orange flames. He frantically looked around, expecting an enemy to suddenly appear out of the shadows.

Link sensed nothing nearby. He remained calm and quietly barked at the boy to show there was no immediate danger. The threat lay elsewhere, beyond their sources of light.

Romeo was on the verge of tears and shaking in fright by the time he understood the wolf's body language. He fell to his knees with a trembling sigh.

Meanwhile, Pipaya was looking at the lifeless crystals hanging in the chandelier above them, her eyes full of worry. "My power…" she said softly, "The demon has taken my magic from the Lacrima…"

"That must be why it's so dark in this temple," said Pipo with a shudder. "It's the demon's fault!"

A scream filled the chamber, snapping Link's attention. Ears perked straight up and eyes wide, he listened. The scream was full of fear and it was soon accompanied by a short burst of mini-explosions before both came to an abrupt end.

"That… That was Bisca!" Romeo exclaimed, jumping back onto his feet. "She's in trouble!"

Link shot into action – or tried to. The ache in his chest combined with the sharp pain in his right shoulder and side made him fall face-first after he attempted to run.

"Master! You're too hurt!" Pipo cried.

The wolf grunted with effort as he got back up. "As long as I can move, I can still fight!" he grumbled, shaking away the new pain. He limped forward with no other protests from his spirits. Even Romeo stayed back.

Another scream pierced his ears, shrill and full of agony. Hearing Bisca's tortured voice drove Link past his limits. Adrenaline numbed his pain and fueled his limbs. He broke into a sprint, swerving and leaping over every obstacle in his way with Pipaya providing enough light to see. There was no time to search for his sword, saving Bisca came first.

_Hurry! Before it is too late!_

Her screams turned into tearful sobs.

Fearing he would not make it, he leapt onto one of the machines to gain a better view. Nothing but darkness waited ahead of him, however he could sense the demon by his aura and stench. And Bisca… the sharp scent of her blood worried him greatly.

"Pipaya, bring us light!" Link barked.

"As you wish, Master!" replied the falcon. " _Shine!_ "

The wolf took a deep breath and howled along with her cry, to make it appear as if he was the one to summon light back to the lifeless crystals. Every Lacrima flashed bright and intense, chasing away the cold shadows. Not only did he want to draw the demon's attention away from Bisca, he also wanted to show the accursed fiend that it was useless to hide in the darkness. Light will always shine upon evil and Link was here to prove it.

Blue eyes were fierce and angry when they spotted the giant, grayish-black abomination that had taken the fat man's place.

Bisca's screams had gone silent.

"What is this?!" the demon snarled. The creature spun around on fat stumpy legs, revealing his hideous toad-like face to the hero. He scowled at the wolf, but the beast paid no attention to him.

Link was instead focusing on Bisca who was held within the demon's clutches. She was limp and unmoving, her face pale and her eyes closed towards the ceiling. Fresh blood trickled down the side of her face, mixing with her fallen tears, and soaking into her green hair, staining it a deep red.

Link felt a twinge in his heart. Was he too late to save her? He whimpered at the thought only to have his anger renewed at the sound of the demon's riling voice.

"Wretched mutt, you're still alive?!"

The wolf bared his fangs in a vicious snarl, growling like a savage beast.

_No matter how many times you strike me down, I will always return with a vengeance! I am the wielder of the legendary blade and the bringer of light, demon! I will not fall so easily! For everything you have done to me and my friends, you will pay for it by a hundred fold!_

Link jumped from one machine to the next, quickly closing the distance between him and his opponent. He was enraged; he wanted to rip through every one of those saggy chins and tear out the demon's throat.

The fiend hissed in frustration, his eyes blazing. "You are no immortal beast! This time I will send you to the Gates of Hades!" he roared, raising his free hand. His yellowish-brown claws flashed white as he swiped vertically down in the air, sending five deadly waves of energy in the shape of crescent blades. It was similar to his _Divine Scythe_ attack except the blades were wider and faster. They cut through stone and metal as if they were only butter, slicing everything in their path towards the lone wolf.

Link mustered all his strength in his back legs to perform a mighty leap. He sprang up high to avoid the attack, soaring mere inches above the magic blades. Once all four feet touched the open floor, he charged at the demon as fast as a fired arrow.

He was upon the fiend within seconds, leaping at the monstrosity's shocked face. Sharp fangs sank into thick, flabby skin, drawing a startled cry. Link managed to tear off a mouthful of disgusting demon fat just as he was swatted aside by one giant hand.

With a yelp, he crashed hard onto his uninjured side and skidded across the rough ground. He was back on his feet one heartbeat later, too angry to feel any pain. He lunged at his seething foe, his mouth hungry for another bite of demon.

Dark blood gushed from the missing chunk from one of the demon's many chins, but the wound was barely deep enough to be fatal. Seeing his own blood made him cry out in fury. He swiped at the charging wolf, sending another wave of crescent blades.

The hero swerved. The blades rang past him, clipping the hairs off the tip of his tail. He breathed a quick sigh of relief at narrowly avoiding getting sliced to pieces.

"Cursed mutt! _Die!_ " the demon bellowed. He plunged his whole fist into the floor, shattering the rock around it. " _Divine Ray!_ "

"Below you!" Pipaya shrieked.

The ground violently shook right where Link was standing. Something big was definitely coming. The wolf jumped out of the way a second before the floor violently burst with a huge beam of blinding white energy that was more than wide enough to swallow him whole. It struck the roof and blinked out a second later, leaving behind a scorched circle in the ceiling and a gaping black hole in the floor.

" _Die! Die! Die!_ " the demon bellowed.

"Keep moving!" Pipaya shouted.

Link didn't need to be told what to do. He could sense the demon's attacks coming his way. Without skipping a beat, he dodged three more incinerating rays of light before resuming his course towards his foe.

The fat toad snarled and pulled his fist free when he couldn't hit the nimble wolf with such a large, predictable attack. He resorted to cowardly tactics instead. "Stay back, mutt! Or else I'll snap her body in half!" he warned, holding Bisca high up for the wolf to see.

That stopped the hero in his tracks.

"Damn him!" he barked, snapping his bloodied teeth at the fiend. Snarling viciously, he impatiently paced back and forth, his eyes never leaving the demon's heinous face. He regretted not freeing Bisca first, thinking he could kill the demon swiftly.

A smug, toothy smile formed on the abomination's big fat lips. He started to laugh, a thunderous rumbling coming from beneath the jiggling folds of his neck. It was suddenly cut short by a loud _bang_ and a small fiery explosion to the back of his head. He jerked out of surprise rather than in pain and twisted around with an angry hiss.

Standing behind him was Alzack and the man was absolutely livid.

The mage held one of his firing weapons steadily in both hands, aiming the golden barrel directly at the toad's ugly mug. A loathing glare met the demon's furious scowl. "Let her go!" Alzack demanded.

The demon was hardly intimidated by Alzack's stance. He snarled and took a stomping step towards the man, staring down at the human as if he was an irritating insect that needed to be squashed.

Alzack stood his ground unflinchingly. "Are you too ugly to hear me? I said 'Let her go!'"

"How annoying…" the demon muttered in distaste, curling his fat fingers into a massive, tight fist. "You pathetic little worms keep crawling back! I'll make sure you all stay dead – argh!"

Someone beat Link in attacking the demon while he was distracted – someone with long flowing red hair and dressed in gleaming black armour. It was Erza and she was as quick as she was strong, flying in on webbed dragon-like wings and slashing with her sword. She attacked so fast that her weapon appeared only as silvery streaks to Link's eyes.

Multiple gashes appeared on the demon's meaty arm, making him flinch back and drop Bisca.

"Alzack!" Erza cried.

The man was already diving to catch his wife. Once she was safe in his arms, he made a mad dash out of there, leaving Erza to deal with the demon.

The scarlet-haired warrioress continued her onslaught, hacking at the toad's flabby body without any mercy, farther pushing him back.

Link thought she had the battle won, but then the giant managed to snatch her sword by the blade in mid-strike with one of its bony hands. Erza let go of her weapon in an instant and back-flipped away. In the midst of her maneuver, her black armour was suddenly replaced by another set within a blink of an eye.

Her new armour was a sight to behold, both beautiful and gallant. All silver and gray, she was like an angel with four majestic wings made of sharp blades. She wielded twin swords in her plated hands, but it seemed that two blades were not enough. At least fifty more copies of those swords magically appeared out of thin air, hovering over her head. Each one was aiming its deadly point towards the enemy, ready to turn him into a living pin-cushion.

Link quietly watched the showdown in astonishment. An angel versus a demon; beauty versus abomination; good versus evil. He prayed for Erza's strength to overcome the other.

"Your terror ends now!" the woman proclaimed, fearless and angry. " _Trinity Sword!_ " She slashed both her swords outward, unleashing a blade of bluish-white energy in the shape of an arrow head. At the same time, she launched all the levitating swords towards their target.

Despite the many bloody cuts covering his body, the demon didn't seem affected by his wounds. He was more angry than hurt, glaring vehemently at Erza. He raised a hand at the last moment, erecting a transparent barrier that deflected the mage's magic and her many weapons. The magic blade dissipated into nothingness while her many swords soundly clattered to the floor, piling around the demon's feet.

Erza growled a curse and magically retrieved her discarded weapons with invisible hands, making them hover around her once more.

With his barrier still up, the demon stomped towards the angelic mage, his whole body wobbling with every step, spraying the floor with his own dark blood. He snorted and formed a hideous, twisted smile. "How very wrong you are, my dear," he hissed, swinging his staff in a circle above his head. "My terror has only begun!"

Light from every Lacrima was suddenly drawn to the egg-shaped jewel atop his staff, bringing back the haunting darkness. The egg shone brightest for only a second before the demon _sucked_ the energy into his gaping mouth.

Pipaya gasped, "He is _consuming_ my power?"

 _Not good_ , was Link's first thought.

Under the falcon's natural light, he could see that it was truly not good indeed; all of the demon's gaping wounds quickly mended before his eyes. And his aura… it had grown stronger.

If the demon could use the Celestial Spirit's power to his advantage, it would be risky to have Pipaya return light to the chamber.

However, that meant leaving Erza to fight blindly in the dark.

"Master Link, what shall I do?" the falcon asked as she swooped down to the wolf's level, reading his thoughts.

Link growled in frustration. He tried to think fast, only to get distracted by the sudden appearance of a flaming red sword. Erza had switched into yet another set of armour, this one consisting of black, red, and gold plating. She had somehow changed her hairstyle as well, going from free-flowing to pigtails.

She steeled against the approaching demon, her eyes burning as fierce as her blade. She was unafraid against all odds, a true warrior in heart and soul. Her weapon was her light and she could clearly see her enemy in all his fat, ugly glory.

"Master! Master! Over here!"

Link turned his head at the sound of Pipo's voice and found the sparrow on the opposite side of the room, flying in circles around Romeo. The boy was walking backwards, dragging something very heavy with him, something that lit up his face in pale white light. When he pulled the object into view, Link's eyes widened.

"The boy has found your sword!" exclaimed Pipaya.

Believing Erza could hold her own for a little while longer, Link fully turned and sprinted towards Romeo and Pipo.

Something stirred in the shadows behind Romeo. Link had first thought it was only due to Pipo flying around, but then even the sparrow noticed it. The little bird twittered in fright when a small creature shrouded in black emerged from the ground and opened its one red eye.

"Midna!" Link pushed hard, ignoring his burning muscles and aching wounds, in hope of saving the boy in time.

Frantically chirping, Pipo fluttered in Romeo's face, trying to warn him of the danger, but the boy was blind and deaf to the spirit.

The moment Midna began to charge her attack was the moment Romeo sensed something behind him. He glanced over his shoulder and completely froze in terror.

The wolf leapt just as Midna finished gathering her energy. He tackled Romeo from the side and as they fell, he reached for the hilt of the Master Sword clutched in the boy's hands. He accidentally scratched flesh before touching warm metal.

The uncomfortable prickling of needles as his body morphed from beast to man was over in a heartbeat.

Link's left hand firmly grasped the familiar handle of his sacred blade while his right arm wrapped around Romeo protectively. Together, they landed on their sides with a jarring thud. Within the same breath, Link quickly disentangled from Romeo, pushed himself onto one knee, and swung his blade at Midna's dark energy ball she had thrown their way.

The Master Sword effortlessly cleaved the dark orb in half and flashed with power, vanquishing all traces of Twilight. Link was standing tall one second later, facing his mind-controlled friend. He raised his sword before him, shining the light of his blade in Midna's face.

She winced and shied away from the brightness.

The sanctuary rang with the noises of battle coming from the demon and Erza so Link had to speak loud and clear; "Midna, it is me, Link."

Her one eye blinked and slowly focused on the young man. Recognition flashed across her face before she clenched her eyes shut and clutched the sides of her head as if in pain. "L-Link…" she groaned, gradually drifting to the floor.

Hearing his name spoken made him hopeful. The demon's control was weakening; Link could bring her back. The swordsman took one small, slow step towards her. "Yes. I am here," he assured, softening both his voice and expression.

"Link… I…" She shook her head and hissed. "M-Make him… s-stop… Please… Shut… him… up… Please! I don't… I don't want… Aaaah!" She curled up and sank into the floor, melding with the shadows before Link could reach her.

"Wait! Midna!" The hero kneeled by the spot where she vanished and found only stone in the pale light of his blade. She was gone. He stood up and lowered his weapon in hope of luring her back, but she failed to reappear.

There was a sad chirp on his shoulder followed by Romeo's questioning; "You know that shadow goblin?!"

"Her name is Midna," Link uttered in dismay, his eyes remaining on the floor. "And she is not a goblin, she is a friend… The demon somehow controls her, but I will soon free her of this torment."

How long had Midna suffered like this? As many days as Link was lost and cursed as a wolf?

 _Too long…_ he thought bitterly, his hands clenching in anger.

He faced the ongoing battle to bore holes in the demon he abhorred.

A sword of fire danced around in the distance, slashing, thrusting, and twirling, its flames licking, singeing, and burning the blubbery, warty skin of the abomination whenever it did not strike a magical shield. Erza was still going hard at it, but she had yet to deal a fatal blow. The ground around them was torn asunder my magical claws and powerful fists.

Slow-moving as he may be, the demon's ability to withstand almost every attack without flinching made him a formidable opponent.

It was time the battle came to an end. Link was exhausted and hurting all over and it would not be long before Erza began to wear herself out cutting and burning away all those thick layers of fat.

Link reached into one of his satchels and pulled out one of his red potions he had been saving for his battle against Zant. He needed it now more than ever. He sheathed his blade, uncorked the potion, and drank its contents in two gulps. It was sweet and bitter on the tongue and tasted mildly like forest mushrooms. The potion worked quickly, soothing his pain and replenishing some of his energy.

He drew his sword back in his hand, feeling its sacred power flow through his rejuvenated body. "Romeo," he said, meeting the boy's curious gaze with a grateful smile, "thank you for finding my sword. Now go and hide. Pipo will stay with you and warn you of any danger."

"Pi -who?" the young mage asked, raising an eyebrow.

Link gestured at the sparrow perched on his shoulder, but to Romeo, it looked like he was pointing at nothing. "A little Celestial Spirit of light you cannot see nor hear, but I know you can sense her. Keep an open flame in your hand and she will make it move. Right, Pipo?"

To answer him, Pipo sang cheerfully and took flight, circling right above the boy's head like a guardian fairy.

Romeo gasped. "Celestial Spirit?! So then… that key is… T-The Light God is…"

"Go hide, Romeo," Link interrupted. "There will be time to explain everything later."

"O-Oh! Yes, sir!" The boy nodded and summoned a small ball of orange fire in the palm of his right hand. When he saw the flame flicker wildly from the beat of Pipo's wings, he smiled. "Links – no… I'm sorry. It's just 'Link', isn't it? I know you can defeat that demon!"

"I will."

And the boy ran off into a dark corner with Pipo not far behind.

Link's boot kicked something small and metal after taking his first step towards the battle zone. It was Bisca's bracelet and it was coated black with Twilight once again. He picked it up and tucked it into one of his satchels before resuming his pace. He charged forward, though not as quick as he would a wolf, but still fast enough to cross the room within a short number of strides.

"Pipaya! Light!" he called the instant Erza and the demon noticed his approach.

The falcon trilled loud in his ears but silently to others. The Lacrima flashed with life once more, making the demon flinch and hiss at the sudden brightness, a short enough distraction which allowed Erza to penetrate his defenses.

In one split-second, Erza magically switched from a fiery red sword to a long spear that sparked with white electricity, from red, black, and gold armour to a silvery blue set, from pigtails to a single long braid. She thrust the lightning-emitting point into the demon's plump chest, deep enough to pierce where his heart should be.

But he was an evil demon, and demons like him were void of hearts.

Seemingly unhurt, the abomination swiped at Erza with one fat hand, forcing her to leave her weapon embedded in his flesh and retreat. He then _tore_ the spear right out without a care, ripping open a gaping hole that bled profusely. A waterfall of dark red blood poured over his rolls of fat and rounded belly and pooled on the floor. Outraged at the sight of the oncoming swordsman, he flung Erza's weapon in the hero's direction.

Link rolled to dodge the thrown spear and continued onward, never losing his speed.

" _You!_ " the fiend roared, his voice like thunder, "How can this be?! I watched you perish! You should be _dead!_ You and that accursed mutt… _Curse you both and curse your gods!_ " He swiped both of his fat arms downward, sending two waves of slashing energy at the warrior in green.

Link said nothing in return. His words from earlier still held true; he would be the one to bring the demon down. There was no point in wasting any more of his breath. Without slowing down, Link cut through the attacks as easily as cutting through air, dispelling the magic in two quick swings. A few more running strides and he was upon the fiend with a battle cry, slashing upwards as he leapt high to cut through the barrier the fiend had erected in haste. As gravity brought him back down, he cut down with both hands, aiming at the toad's hideous face with all his strength. However, one huge, meaty arm got in the path of his blade. He sliced through flesh and bone as easily as slicing through water, severing half of the demon's forearm

The severed limb landed with a heavy, wet thud on the floor and wriggled and twitched as if it had a life of its own. The demon cried out with genuine pain and stumbled backwards, his face horrendously twisted into a horrified mess as he looked at the bloody stump of his left arm.

Every drop of tainted blood touching the Master Sword bubbled, fizzled, and evaporated into black smoke, leaving the blade clean and flawless. Its edge remained as sharp as ever, thirsty for the flesh of evil.

Link did not give his enemy a chance to recover or retaliate. He moved in and thrust his weapon deep into the demon's sagging gut, up to the hilt.

The demon choked and gurgled in pain, sputtering blood on his gray blubbery lips. Still able to stand, he raked his remaining claws at the hero out of desperation.

Link wrenched his sword free and simply ducked under the hand. He spun on his heel to perform a spin attack, slashing across the demon's great belly.

The demon staggered backwards and clutched his horrid wound, wailing in agony. "No!" he spat, "I will not die here!" He waved his staff and absorbed all the light energy from the Lacrima into his egg jewel.

Pipaya shrieked from above while Link silently cursed. Healing would only delay his demise and Link was in no mood to continue the battle any longer. He had to stop the demon quickly.

Once again, Erza beat him to the action. She was already soaring towards the shining staff on gleaming, silvery wings. "Not this time!" she yelled as she slashed at the bony arm holding the weapon, cutting it off by the elbow. Both arm and staff clattered to the floor.

The demon was rendered helpless now and it was clear that he had finally lost. "No! _No! Imp!_ _Save me!_ "

"She is not yours to command!" Link roared, jumping high for the finishing blow. He met the demon's gaze one last time and relished at the fear reflected in those big red eyes.

_For Bisca! For Midna! For everyone you have harmed! This is the end for you!_

He swung with all his might. His sword descended upon the toad's ugly face only to hit nothing but air a second later.

At the very last moment, the demon's giant body was suddenly enveloped by darkness before disintegrating into hundreds of small, flaky black pieces. The flakes fluttered upwards like paper caught in the wind, drawn into a familiar black and green portal that had appeared in the ceiling.

A Twilight warp! There was only one person here capable of creating one.

"No! Midna!"

And she appeared as if summoned by her name, coming from the shadows untouched by the light of the crystal egg and the Master Sword. Her visible eye was dull and unfocused, indicating she was under the demon's full control once again. The Twilight Princess levitated to the portal to follow after her enslaver.

Link helplessly reached up for her. "Midna!" he cried, "I will find him and free you! I promise you, Midna!"

_I always keep my promises…_

She hesitated for the briefest of moments before disappearing into her portal, which soon closed and vanished without a trace.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
